Precedent for the Unprecedented

    Sam Donaldson commented over the weekend on the incident in which The Daily Caller's Neil Munro interrupted President Obama's prepared remarks with a question.  Examiner.com reports:

"Many on the political right believe this president ought not to be there – they oppose him not for his polices and political view but for who he is, an African American," Donaldson told the Huffington Post in an email.
"These people and perhaps even certain news organizations (certainly the right wing talkers like Limbaugh) encourage disrespect for this president. That is both regrettable and adds, in this case, to the general dislike of the press on the part of the general public," he added.

On November 25, 1986, President Ronald Reagan made some prepared remarks to the press regarding events surrounding Iran-Contra.  And guess who was there, presumably shushing Helen Thomas and the other impertinent reporters who were interrupting Reagan, no doubt on account of his race?

    Note that Reagan is interrupted after the words "to brief you..."  After momentarily addressing the reporters, he returns to his prepared remarks before Meese takes the podium.

    Also note the expressions of Donaldson and Thomas around the 1:10 mark of the clip as Reagan leaves, and then the question that Donaldson asks Meese.  The respect is simply palpable.