The White House was embroiled in an embarrassing leak today after a group of black bloggers and journalists published details of an off-the-record policy briefing. Members of the group accused the Obama administration of using them for political expediency and demanded the same level of access as other mainstream media. One blog, Jack and Jill Politics, said: 'We essentially told the White House that we are not willing to be "pimped". Access: A group of black journalists and bloggers accused the Obama administration of using them for political gain after a White House briefing 'Oh, we used better articulation, but it was direct and could not be taken out of context, misunderstood or ignored.' Keli Goff, a blogger who writes for theloop21.com, said: 'I respect that the second half of the briefing was off the record, but I feel comfortable enough to say I think we made it clear that we want to be taken just as seriously and receive the same measure of access as the mainstream outlets already do. 'This was a good first date. Now let's see if there is some substance there going forward.' The group, which included members of outlets like Essence and BET, were invited to the White House on Monday for policy briefings by the president's advisers. The White House had included ground rules that the first part of the meeting was on background, but that the second was off-the-record entirely. 'Pimped': Students at Mr Obama's former elementary school during a writing class. The group of journalists demanded better access to the White House Clips of group meeting Barack Obama have been posted on blogging sites. In them, the president stress the importance of using black media, especially blogs with large black followings. He said: 'The media is changing so rapidly. It allows us to reach audiences that may not be watching "meet the press" - not that there's anything wrong with "meet the press". 'Part of what's so powerful about the web is that it's not just a one-way conversation. 'That means we have the capacity potentially to get information about how people are thinking, what their concerns are, what's working, what's not in the way that allows us to do our job better. 'We're very excited about the possibility of our interaction.' Outrage: An election billboard in Grand Junction, Colorado, depicts the president as a suicide bomber, Mexican bandit and homosexual Gaffe: Vice president Joe Biden told the New York Times he would be running mate to Mr Obama in 2012 It comes after an election billboard depicting Mr Obama as an Islamist suicide bomber, a homosexual, a Mexican bandit and a gangster was put up in Republican-dominated Colorado. The poster - creted by Paul Snover under the slogan 'Vote DemocRAT' - has caused a storm of criticism in Grand Junction. Martelle Daniels, chairman of the Mesa County Democrats, said it was 'clearly racist and homophobic'. She said: 'Certainly it is not designed for intelligent discourse at all.' Underneath the cartoons of Mr Obama are rats labelled as trial lawyers, the Inland Revenue Service, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Reserve. Chuck Pabst, Republican Party chairman in Grand Junction, said the billboard was in bad taste. He said: 'It's reprehensible and disrespectful, and that's not what any honourable person would put forth. 'To ridicule someone in this manner juvenile.' Mesa County is strongly Republican and increasingly Conservative, with several active Tea Party organisations. Mr Obama has staged a series of rallies across the U.S. as his Democratic Party attempts to avoid the Republicans making strong gains in the mid-term elections next month. Struggling: Mr Obama and Mr Biden campaigning in Philadelphia. The Democrat Party is expected to be heavily beaten in next month's mid-term elections The Republicans are expected to regain control in one or both of the House of Representatives and Senate as the U.S. struggles to overcome high unemployment. Vice president Joe Biden hasn't helped the cause after announcing to the New York Times that he would be Mr Obama's running mate in the 2012 presidential election. He said: 'I tell you what, there's real trust, that's why he's asked me to run again. 'Look, he said "we're going to run together, are you going to run?". I said "of course, you want me to run with you, I'm happy to run with you".' There had been speculation that current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could replace Mr Biden as vice presidential candidate.Barack Obama in embarrassing leak as group of bloggers accuse White House of 'pimping' black vote
Last updated at 3:49 PM on 15th October 2010
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