The Card Sacrifice

"Off-the-record sessions with presidents are somewhat controversial in journalism circles. Critics say reporters should not subject themselves to being influenced or 'spun' under ground rules that prevent the comments from being relayed to the public. But many news organizations say the sessions give reporters a rare opportunity to observe the president up close and to gain insight into his thinking and concerns."

Katharine Q. Seelye writes in the New York Times: "The meetings, which the journalists have agreed not to describe publicly, have been in the White House residence. . . .

"David Bohrman, the Washington bureau chief for CNN, one of whose reporters attended a session, said they were a good idea.

" 'Most of the time, the environments that our reporters deal with the president in are very structured, very managed, and they rarely get to just kick back and have a conversation,' he said. 'I think there's a lot of value in it for both sides.' . . .

"The New York Times, which was invited to attend a session today, has declined to participate.

"Philip Taubman, the Washington bureau chief for The Times, said in a statement last night: 'The Times has declined this opportunity after weighing the potential benefits to our readers against the prospect of withholding information from them about the discussion with Mr. Bush. As a matter of policy and practice, we would prefer when possible to conduct on-the-record interviews with public officials.' . . .

"One reporter who attended a recent session said Mr. Bush had appeared relaxed and seemed to enjoy showing the group around the residence. They met in the yellow oval room and were taken out on the Truman balcony. A few of Mr. Bush's aides were present as the reporters were served iced tea, water and soda and chatted for about an hour."

Joe Strupp writes for Editor and Publisher: " 'It was very pleasant, he seemed very thoughtful and frank,' said Stephan Dinan, a Washington Times reporter and one of about six reporters who took part in a session Monday afternoon. 'It was on a wide range of stuff.' . . .

"A scribe who attended a session last Thursday called it 'a little surreal. . . . He wants to chew the fat,' the reporter said. 'He asked about our backgrounds, our families. He wanted to be informal, but it couldn't be, because of who he is.' "

Test of Executive Power

The Supreme Court today hears oral arguments in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the former chauffeur of Osama bin Laden now imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Charles Lane wrote in Sunday's Washington Post that Hamdan's case is "one of the most important of Bush's presidency. It is a challenge to the broad vision of presidential power that Bush has asserted since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"In blunt terms, Hamdan's brief calls on the court to stop 'this unprecedented arrogation of power.' Just as urgently, the administration's brief urges the court not to second-guess the decisions of the commander in chief while 'the armed conflict against al Qaeda remains ongoing.' "