Big Fat Story
The first online presidential town hall goes to pot.
Apparently out of networks to grant interviews to, President Obama took to the Internet on Thursday with a town-hall meeting streamed live from WhiteHouse.gov. The event's hook was that questions were voted on by users online, leading to some interesting moments. For example, several of the top vote-getting questions regarded legalizing marijuana as a means to boost the economy. Obama didn't shy away from the topic and acknowledged its overwhelming popularity. "I don't know what this says about the online audience," he joked. "The answer is, no, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy."
Photo: Ron Edmonds / AP Photo
“He’s the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he ready to lead?”
In July, the McCain campaign took out an ad comparing Barack Obama to Paris Hilton, but the president’s recent media blitz might even leave Ms. Hilton exhausted. “He’s the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he ready to lead?” the ad’s narrator asked. The line of attack initially seemed successful, as McCain pulled even in the polls before his campaign (and the economy) imploded. Obama’s presidency so far suggests that, contrary to the ad’s suggestion, these two things are not mutually exclusive.
Photo: Eric Thayer / Getty Images
The Leno appearance leads to distracting gaffe.
One problem with constant media appearances: more opportunities for gaffes. While President Obama was famously in control on the campaign trail, he struggled with an appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last week in a first-ever presidential visit to the late-night talk-show circuit as an ill-conceived gag about the Special Olympics overshadowed his reassuring words on the economy. The joke led Sarah Palin, whose son, Trig, has Down syndrome, to blast Obama for "degrading" the special-needs community, keeping it in the news even longer.
Photo: Paul Drinkwater, NBCU Photo Bank / AP Photo
Obama's Paris Hilton Problem
Do the president’s constant interviews, news conferences, and multimedia gimmicks leave him overexposed and less effective? The Daily Beast dissects how Obama’s press blitz affects his agenda.
Obama's news conferences don't draw the same audience they once commanded.
President Obama draws crowds in any setting, but his constant TV appearances could weaken his brand by making his speeches less of an event. While Obama's Leno appearance drew big ratings, not every appearance has fared as well. For example, his latest prime-time news conference attracted 40 million viewers—a huge number, to be sure, but down 10 million from his last presser back in February. In addition, it was accompanied by a corresponding surge in viewership on the one channel not carrying the event, The CW. Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, acknowledged after the conference that too much TV could be a danger for the president, but said that Americans expected Obama keep them informed as to his thinking on key issues. "You can say maybe there's overexposure," Emanuel told CNN's Larry King. "I think if you watch and see, there have been greater audiences for the shows he has been on to answer these questions, because these are the questions the American people are asking around their kitchen tables."
Photo: Gerald Herbert / AP Photo
Perhaps President Obama's most surprising media appearance in recent weeks was his interview with ESPN, where he filled out his NCAA bracket for men's college basketball. To be fair, the hoops-loving Obama would probably have taken the time to write up a bracket regardless of whether it were televised, but his public choices led to some criticism on and off the court. Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski went after Obama for leaving his team out of the Final Four, saying "you might be spending less time on the brackets, Mr. President, and more time on the economy." GOP senators followed his lead, with Texas Sen. John Cornyn accusing Obama of spending too much time on filling out his NCAA bracket while leaving too many positions unfilled at the beleaguered Treasury Department. Of course, they fail to see Obama's grander plan: FiveThirtyEight.com's Nate Silver pointed out that the presidential bracket just happens to be weighted in favor of universities in presidential swing states.
The White House media strategy goes far beyond traditional news outlets.
President Obama surprised media observers this week at his news conference when he bypassed reporters at the New York Times and Wall Street Journal to take questions from journalists at places like Ebony magazine and Univision instead. His choice of reporters was no coincidence, part of a White House plan to carry Obama's message in venues outside of the usual newspapers and TV news shows. He and Michelle have granted interviews to such apolitical outlets as People and ESPN. Politico's Andie Coller has dubbed Obama "The Everywhere President" as a result, but some warn that such a strategy has its downsides as well. President Clinton's former press secretary, Dee Dee Myers, told Politico that with too much media time "at some point, people stop listening," while others warn that the White House's traditional dignity could be compromised by too many gimmicky appearances.
Photo: Gerald Herbert / AP Photo
AndreainNY
Obama needs to continue to "speak". It's the one thing he excels at, and it's the one thing that keeps people from looking too closely at his actions.
connie47
Matter of opinion. My household is delighted that he speaks directly to us on a regular basis, that he answers a lot of questions and answers them in depth. If you don't like him, you don't have to listen. It's optional.
And, sorry, AndreainNY, but lots of us got all the way through college, know how to think for ourselves and aren't blinded by his brilliance.
honeyperson
How can a president possibly be over-exposed? It seems to me he's working his duff off to keep in touch with Americans. That may be a departure from previous presidents, but it's a good one. He is not afraid to face questions, nor is he afraid to bungle once in a while and admit it. How refreshing.
AndreainNY
No one is accusing you of anything, connie47.
Obama's better at talking about policy than executing it.
tarryh
Obama is only over exposed to the chattering classes and news junkies. Otherwise, no he is not. Frankly the vast majority of Americans have other things to do..... like try to feed their families, pay the mortgage, raise their kids....... than tweet, blog, watch all the evening news shows, join in web events, etc. And what we do see is so refreshing after eight years of Bush the Silent.
woodnut
The more of Obama that America gets the better off we'll be. America needs more tough love.
jlp-nyc
AndreainNY, please take responsibility for your comments and get your facts straight before you type. Have you even been paying attention the past months?
Uberjeff
He's only over exposed to those who watch every single show or event he's been to. I doubt the average person watches everything and stays completely plugged in. Americans work too hard to pay that much attention all the time.
My guess is that most people have only caught a few of his many appearances and it's quite refreshing to have him around, explaining things to people in a way that doesn't assume we're too stupid to understand them.
Sarahmp
Stop inventing ways to distract from the issues. You keep creating drama like "Obama is Overexposed". Obama is talking and we have a responsibility to pay attention and engage with him. We don't need you as holes getting in the way and telling us what to think.
kcpaige
Listening to our President explain what he is doing to manage our desperate economy and our defense is not entertainment. How can he be overexposed when every discussion is about the financial welfare of our families, our personal safety, or the safety of our nation? He and his team are moving at a breakneck pace and I have to pay close attention every day just to keep up.
menckenlite
Obama is all form over substance. A media man not a statesman. Too bad for us.
exploora
I think Obama's style of leadership really fits with what we want. That is why we voted for him.
Of course charismatic leadership can be dangerous, especially in times of economic downturn, and war, regardless of what came first.
I have a concern related to Obama's assumption that we are going to win in afghanistan, and it is not clear what we are going to win.
I am assuming winning means all the Al Qaeda, or most of them, will be shot dead, and we will be happy ever after and the lawless border between Afghanistan and Pakistan where foreigners, we are told can be shot on site, coul be more law abiding once we get there to police it.
Maybe the border will be more law abiding once we get there and guard it. But at what price, and who is going to react negatively to our presence. Al Qaeda will.
And I assume Al Qaeda could be a handful on our borders too back home, and who will be guarding them, if all the troops are over there. Possibly the national guard. Possibly we will bring back the draft. How popular will that be. It depends, on the job situation I suppose. It will probably divide everyone, like everything else does. Alternatively, we could all get busy making drones, and send them over there and put some on our borders.
All this will cost money. And who do we owe the most money to? China, who has a border on Afghanistan, soo the world is never as simple as charismatic leaders can convince us to believe it is, that is why such leaders can be scary.
tina920
This article has a "we're running out of things to blame the president" for problem.
First, you cannot compare Barack Obama to Paris Hilton. Her problem is she does nothing, knows nothing and makes millions because she does and knows nothing. She is an insult to intellectuals (refer to the article on your site about the crash of intellectuals in 2009).
She especially is an insult to other women who might be judged on their looks before anyone has the chance to find out that they are in fact briliiant.
Barack Obama was in our living rooms everyday during the campaign and that's what we are used to and still want. :)
After he won, the "critics" were already saying "we aren't seeing him enough anymore".
So, if he's not in the public eye, he's wrong. If he is, he's wrong. Again, like I've said before pick a side people. You sound bi-polar.
I think he is brilliant. It seems like too much pre-judging is going on along with lots of ASSumptions about what people think. Well, newsflash - they/we love him! We want to talk to him and hear from him. The March Madness (publicity) made him seem even coolER!
Give the American people a little time and credit, as well. We aren't stupid and we aren't going to sit around and analyze his every movement, word, etc. etc. etc. We still think he's just....cool because he is; we think he knows what he is doing because HE DOES and we aren't ready to start judging his performance.
No student of political science would.
If you want to see paranoid, overexposed, hypocritical, make something up with no facts to back it up approach, flip over to Fox News.
This article was a waste. You can do better...I hope!
amapola101
Are people really happy that he is talking about going into Afghanistan. Do people really think we need that war.?There is no end to that, and a drainage on our money and I see the draft heading this way.,I thought his talking was to get us out of Iraq. and for all his talking the middle class has not felt a thing about his bail outs, plans, or actions. He is suave, chic,pleasant,and here we go again. We have been lied to and we are heading for a nightmare.He is trying but his promises are slowly changing, does anybody see this.?
Ritarita
And if he
Weren't making
The rounds
Crap would
Be flying
About the
Bunker mentality
In the White House
For God's sake
People
Pick a lane.
Thank you.
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