On Sunday, the president told us:

“With iPods and iPads, Xboxes and PlayStations, information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment,”

Which brings us to this video today of an “interview” with Elena Kagan on WhiteHouse.gov. The White House Press Corps is a little miffed that the first person granted an “interview” of Obama’s nominee was not a member of the media, but a White House staffer:

Q It appears that Solicitor General Kagan did an interview yesterday right after the President’s announcement. You’ve now posted that on the White House website. Who did the interview? And can I have one?
MR. GIBBS: I think it’s — I think it’s on the website, if you want to see it.
Q Do you know who did the interview?
MR. GIBBS: Yes, I think it was Arun who does the video stuff, similar to what we did with Judge Sotomayor during the last one.
Q So a White House staffer interviewing her?
MR. GIBBS: Yes.
Q Would she like to do another one with a journalists?
MR. GIBBS: She has — she’s not told me that, no. (Laughter.)
Q Tell her we’re deeply frustrated.
MR. GIBBS: I will. I will.

In other words, new media distribution methods are fine, as long as it is the president who gets to do the distributing. For critics of the administration, it’s simply a distraction.