CBS REPORTER TO WHITE HOUSE: ALITO ‘SLOPPY SECONDS?’

CBSNEWS Chief White House correspondent John Roberts described the President’s selection of Judge Samuel Alito as “sloppy seconds” during today’s press gaggle with White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. John Roberts: “So, Scott, you said that — or the President said, repeatedly, that Harriet Miers was the best person for the job. So does that mean that Alito is sloppy seconds, or what?”

Tacky, or what?

Apparently this was too much even for CBS, and someone there must have hit Roberts upside the head with a cluebat:

Scott McClellan Gets Apology from the ‘Other’ John Roberts

Sometimes the badgering gets pretty brutal at the daily White House briefings. Possibly reporters quietly apologize to Press Secretary Scott McClellan (though we doubt it). It’s rare, however, when the apology is quite public.

It happened today after CBS newsman John Roberts asked McClellan if today’s appointment of a new nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court amounted to little more than “sloppy seconds, or what?” Among other things this has a rather unfortunate sexual connotation.

Another reporter caught in the act of being himself!

“At the morning White House gaggle, I used an unfortunate choice of words in a question to Scott McClellan. Please be assured that there was no perjorative intent to my question. I was merely attempting to reconcile past statements about Harriet Miers with the President’s new nominee for the Supreme Court. “The early morning White House gaggle is an informal, free-wheeling and often irreverent forum, which is not broadcast and generally not publicly available.

In other words, nobody was supposed to notice even THAT degree of mudball throwing at McClellan – after all he works for Bush and is therefore only fair game.

“Obviously, my tone this morning was a little too casual.”

Obvious at least after the above-mentioned cluebat session.

Finally, no MSM apology would be allowable without the mandatory “weasel out” statement – don’t actually apologize for the statement – apologize for someone else being so up tight that they took offense.

“As we all experience from time to time, it was one of those ‘oops’ moments which we wish we could rewind and re-record. I apologize to anyone who took offense to my poor choice of words. I can assure you I meant none.”