Does Obama Think ABC's Jake Tapper Is 'a Pain?'

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Jake Tapper has a confession.

The ABC News senior White House correspondent sat on a story on Tuesday night, only hours after Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation's 44th president.

As revelers danced the night away at Washington's plethora of parties and official black-tie balls, teen sensations the Jonas Brothers slipped away to give a private concert featuring a special audience: the Obama daughters, Malia and Sasha.

It seems that the news was kept under wraps so the Obama youngsters could enjoy a perk of their father's new job.

"I didn't want to spoil the surprise," Tapper told me. Even though Tapper and I were talking on the phone, I sensed he was smiling when he said that.

"Well," he quipped, "it wasn't exactly a matter of national security."

Tapper, who was appointed to his post last November, can only hope that his future decisions on the beat will be as painless.

Constant presence

Tapper, 39, and I spoke for about 35 minutes on Wednesday afternoon during some rare down time for him this week. Lately, especially, he has been burning the correspondent's candle at both ends, appearing as a constant presence on two of ABC's daily news shows, "Good Morning America" and "World News with Charles Gibson" while performing other duties for the network. He also occasionally appears on "Nightline."

In this digital age of blogs, podcasts, video feeds and the like, a journalist no longer is pigeonholed into such confining categories as "print" or "broadcast" disciplines of the craft. In addition to his on-air work, Tapper maintains a blog and contributes cartoons, one of his avocations, to it.

To get an idea of what a White House correspondent goes through on Inauguration Day, Tapper woke up at 4:15 a.m. He was constantly on the go, partly because he's always searching for a good story and partly because there was so much news on which to report.

But mostly, he acknowledges, he was trying hard just to stay warm. His predicament was exacerbated by the fact that he lost his hat earlier that day -- which he ultimately saw as a blessing in disguise of sorts.

Speaking of himself and his on-air brethren, Tapper quipped, "We all have such enormous heads, so when we wear hats, it can be a risky venture. We're all mutants."

Turning serious, he reflected on covering the big event by musing: "On inauguration day, when 2 million people are in Washington, you're fueled by adrenaline. You're there, watching history. This is why you do the job."

Adulation

Tapper recognizes there was a level of adoration that accompanied Obama's rise not seen in the prior administration

"I don't recall anyone recalling that they cried when President Bush was inaugurated," Tapper wryly noted.

I asked Tapper how he avoids the pitfalls that may have hampered his predecessors who covered President Bush.

He shot back: "I want to hold these guys accountable for what they say and do. You have to avoid group-think by not falling for the cult of personality. We in the media are supposed to be even more professional and vigilant, and questioning."

Tapper discussed his impressions of Obama as both the Leader of the Free World and a global pop-star phenomenon. "The man who makes Beyonce weep tears of happiness a pop-culture icon," he noted.

"He's a much savvier politician than I think people realize," he continued. "He is the definition of the guy who plays the game the best by saying he hates the game. A lot of politicians try to do that. He succeeds at it. He's pitch perfect at being the politician who is not a politician."

Inside the bubble

Jon Banner, the executive producer of "World News with Charles Gibson," recognizes the pressures on his White House correspondent.

"Being inside that bubble at the White House requires great discipline," Banner said.

How will the BC News executives assess whether Tapper has been successful?

Banner said Tapper's mandate is to "break news, inform the public on the tone of the Obama presidency, and hold them accountable. We'll know in a year if he has kept (the administration) honest and broken some news here and there. This White House is disciplined so it's easier said than done."

Banner also discounted the expectation of the media giving Obama a much-discussed "honeymoon period," in which reporters look the other way at occasional flubs and generally give him the benefit of the doubt as he eases into the White House.

"I don't think there is a honeymoon," he said. "The accountability starts immediately."

Banner has no doubt that Tapper is the right person for the job of keeping Obama's administration on its toes. Tapper, he said, " the perfect reporter for the time we live in. He is very aggressive (and can) present the news to a digital audience. He is a force of nature."

For his part, Tapper has a clear picture of how the Obama administration regards him and his counterparts.

"I would imagine that they think I'm a pain -- if I'm doing my job right," Tapper said. " I don't come to this job automatically assuming they are making the right decisions. That's my job: to let our viewers know, to the best of my ability, what is really going on."

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By Jon Friedman