It is "not appropriate" for the president to try to intervene as a mediator in the Writers Guild strike, which is impacting the U.S. entertainment industry now to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, a spokeswoman says.
Dana Perino's response came yesterday to a question from Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House.
"Will the president try to help settle the Writers Guild strike, which reporter – Reuters reported yesterday that NBC has quietly begun reimbursing advertisers an average of $500,000 each for failing to reach guaranteed ratings levels, 'the first time a network has taken such a step in years?'" he asked.
"The president is the commander-in-chief, not the mediator-in-chief, although many in this room seem to think that he should be today," Perino said.
"But what – he certainly has reached out. Has he done anything insofar as trying to help settle this…" Kinsolving asked.
"It's not appropriate for the president to get involved in that," Perino said.
Reuters also has reported that the income lost by guild members since the Writers Guild of America launched its first strike in almost two decades is estimated at $104 million.
Picketing continued yesterday as the sides appeared to be at an impasse.
Strikers walked picket lines around Los Angeles and in New York, more than 200 striking writers rallied at the site of productions for "The View" and "All My Children."
In another question, Kinsolving asked: "In the White House's consideration of reported global warming, is there any wondering why Nobel Prize winner Al Gore has refused to accept repeated challenges to debate climate researcher Lord Christopher Monckton and other skeptics of global warming?"
"I have no idea. You'll have to ask his office," Perino said..
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