An Unwelcome Compromise

"What gives?

"A member of the press corps we spoke to yesterday equated reporters at such staged White House functions with 'props.' He explained that because the president only takes four questions at each press availability -- two from U.S. wire service reporters and two from foreign scribes -- many in the press corps don't bother to show up."

Fighting the Stem Cell Rebellion

The White House today rolls out a particularly dramatic script in response to an unauthorized storyline brewing in the House.

Nina J. Easton writes in the Boston Globe: "In its first vote on stem cell research since President Bush imposed restrictions on federal funding nearly four years ago, the US House of Representatives today is expected to defy a presidential veto threat and pass legislation permitting taxpayer dollars to underwrite research using unneeded embryos from fertility clinics."

What's a president to do?

"The White House and its allies are raising the stakes today with a Rose Garden appearance of 'snowflake' children, those born to mothers using embryos that had been created for other couples' fertility treatments," Easton writes.

"'When you see the faces of our children, it drives the passion,' said Doni Brinkman, a 32-year-old Phoenix woman who trolled the halls of Congress yesterday with her 4-year-old son, Tanner, who wore a T-shirt proclaiming, 'This embryo was not discarded.' "Brinkman's son is one of 81 children born after their parents adopted frozen fertility clinic embryos through the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program, a Christian agency heavily promoted by James Dobson, founder of the conservative Focus on the Family. . . .

"'One of our tasks is to put a human face on this,' said a senior administration official. 'The other side has compelling narratives. We can't answer that with theoretical arguments.' "

A Scripted Conversation

Before his snowflake speech, Bush zips up to Rochester for another one of his scripted "conversations" on Social Security with hand-picked panelists and invitation-only audiences.

WROC-TV reports: "Public access to the President's 'Conversation on Strengthening Social Security' at Greece Athena High School will only include pre-approved students and staff of the High School; guests of various Republican elected legislators in the area, and hand-picked guests of the President."

Jeffrey Blackwell and Victoria E. Freile write in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: "Tickets allowing lucky audience members inside to hear the president at the school were colored red, blue or gold.

"James Bock, 12, of Livonia, Livingston County, and five members of his family learned they had 'golden' tickets, which mean they'll sit on stage with the president. . . .