As we would cynically say back in the good old days in Queens [insert NYC accent]: yeah, right. 

On today's Morning Joe, Associated Press White House correspondent Julie Pace claimed that one thing that made Hillary hesitate in deciding to run for president was that she "worried that her candidacy would block out Joe Biden who is quite a close friend of hers."  When Joe Scarborough expressed skepticism, and the panel burst into guffaws, Joe said "Good. I'm not the only one laughing at that."

UPDATE, March 31: This morning in an email, the AP's Lederman pointed me to a Saturday afternoon "Big Story" item time-stamped the day before the report to which this blog post below links. For whatever reason, that earlier "Big Story" item has more detail than what appears, despite the Sunday time stamp, to be Lederman's original report posted at the AP's national site. In that "Big Story" item, Lederman writes that "Like last time, the White House arranged for the reporters covering the president to wait at a separate location nearby where Obama won't be visible," and that "Previous administrations have allowed brief news media coverage during presidential rounds of golf. Obama's policy generally is not to allow reporters to observe him." Lederman did not mention reporters' decision to stay in a shed rather than return to their hotels. The posts' point about reporters' willingness to submit to what I described as "dismissive, insulting treatment" stands.

At the Associated Press on Sunday, Josh "Lapdog" Lederman filed a brief report telling readers the names of the captains of industry who would be golfing with President Barack Obama that day. Bigwigs with the Floridian, the Boston Celtics, and (yes) even Halliburton, the former source of all evil during the Bush 43 administration, were in the foursome.

Lederman "somehow" failed to note that the White House ordered reporters back to their hotels, and that when they refused, they were banished to a shed. Paul Bedard at the Washington Examiner has the details Lederman didn't care to mention, even in passing:

On Tuesday's All Things Considered, NPR White House correspondent Scott Horsley gave Sen. Tom Cotton just 26 words to express a conservative view: "The point we're making to Iran's leaders is that if Congress doesn't approve a deal, Congress won't accept a deal, now or in the future."

NPR was more interested in plumbing the small minority of Republicans who did not sign the open letter to Iranian leaders, and interviewed Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona. Anchor Melissa Block repeatedly pressed Flake to attack his fellow Republicans, even suggests the letter aligns 47 Republicans "with Iran's hard-liners." As if Obama isn't negotiating with Iran's hard-liners?

During his opening monologue on Thursday’s Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon made a few jests toward Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and each of their chances of winning the 2016 presidential election. Fallon began the gag by playing a clip of Clinton speaking to the abortion group EMILY’s List on Tuesday night and asking if they “someday want to see a woman president of the United States of America” to which “the crowd,” Fallon said, “went crazy.”

Even the reliably liberal Time magazine is admitting the obvious: Joe Biden wouldn't get a pass for his creepy habit of putting his hands on women if he wasn't a Democrat. Writer  Karol Markowicz conceded, "The only reason Joe Biden gets away with getting handsy with women is because he has a (D) after his name."