Mr. President, please stay off TV.

[akv]

Howard Fineman
The Limits of Charisma
Mr. President, please stay off TV.
Published Sep 26, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Oct 5, 2009

If ubiquity were the measure of a presidency, Barack Obama would already be grinning at us from Mount Rushmore. But of course it is not. Despite his many words and television appearances, our elegant and eloquent president remains more an emblem of change than an agent of it. He's a man with an endless, worthy to-do list—health care, climate change, bank reform, global capital regulation, AfPak, the Middle East, you name it—but, as yet, no boxes checked "done." This is a problem that style will not fix. Unless Obama learns to rely less on charm, rhetoric, and good intentions and more on picking his spots and winning in political combat, he's not going to be reelected, let alone enshrined in South Dakota.

The president's problem isn't that he is too visible; it's the lack of content in what he says when he keeps showing up on the tube. Obama can seem a mite too impressed with his own aura, as if his presence on the stage is the Answer. There is, at times, a self-referential (even self-reverential) tone in his big speeches. They are heavily salted with the words "I" and "my." (He used the former 11 times in the first few paragraphs of his address to the U.N. last week.) Obama is a historic figure, but that is the beginning, not the end, of the story.

There is only so much political mileage that can still be had by his reminding the world that he is not George W. Bush. It was the winning theme of the 2008 campaign, but that race ended nearly a year ago. The ex-president is now more ex than ever, yet the current president, who vowed to look forward, is still reaching back to Bush as bogeyman.

He did it again in that U.N. speech. The delegates wanted to know what the president was going to do about Israel and the Palestinian territories. He answered by telling them what his predecessor had failed to do. This was effective for his first month or two. Now it is starting to sound more like an excuse than an explanation.

Members of Obama's own party know who Obama is not; they still sometimes wonder who he really is. In Washington, the appearance of uncertainty is taken as weakness—especially on Capitol Hill, where a president is only as revered as he is feared. Being the cool, convivial late-night-guest in chief won't cut it with Congress, an institution impervious to charm (especially the charm of a president with wavering poll numbers). Members of both parties are taking Obama's measure with their defiant and sometimes hostile response to his desires on health care. Never much of a legislator (and not long a senator), Obama underestimated the complexity of enacting a major "reform" bill. Letting Congress try to write it on its own was an awful idea. As a balkanized land of microfiefdoms, each loyal to its own lobbyists and consultants, Congress is incapable of being led by its "leadership." It's not like Chicago, where you call a guy who calls a guy who calls Daley, who makes the call. The president himself must make his wishes clear—along with the consequences for those who fail to grant them.

The model is a man whose political effectiveness Obama repeatedly says he admires: Ronald Reagan. There was never doubt about what he wanted. The Gipper made his simple, dramatic tax cuts the centerpiece not only of his campaign but also of the entire first year of his presidency.

Obama seems to think he'll get credit for the breathtaking scope of his ambition. But unless he sees results, it will have the opposite effect—diluting his clout, exhausting his allies, and emboldening his enemies. That may be starting to happen. Health-care legislation is still weeks, if not months, from passage, and the bill as it stands could well be a windfall for the very insurance and drug companies it was supposed to rein in. Climate-change legislation (a.k.a. cap-and-trade) is almost certainly dead for this year, which means that American negotiators will go empty-handed to the Copenhagen summit in December —pushing the goal of limiting carbon emissions even farther into the distance. In the spring Obama privately told the big banks that he was going to change the way they do business. It was going to be his way or the highway. But the complex legislation he wants to submit to Congress has little chance of passage this year. Doing Letterman again won't help. It may boost the host's ratings, Mr. President, but probably not your own.

I can't ever recall an article or news story suggesting the POTUS tone down his TV appearances?

It's about ********* time the US media started to just tell the facts. Is Newsweek usually worth reading?

[akv]

Originally Posted by rltipton

Is Newsweek usually worth reading?

Rltipton,
Actually no it is not, in my opinion. They deserved and took a great deal of criticism for their excessive Obama bias during the election. So for a liberal rag to put this out perhaps Mr. Obama's act is really wearing thin?

[Sigaba]

FWIW, during her appearance last night on The Late Late Show, Paula Poundstone offered some well aimed apolitical barbs at the president for his ubiquitousness. The crowd laughed and cheered.

[greenberetTFS]

Originally Posted by akv

Rltipton,
Actually no it is not, in my opinion. They deserved and took a great deal of criticism for their excessive Obama bias during the election. So for a liberal rag to put this out perhaps Mr. Obama's act is really wearing thin?

R,

Actually this last recent issue,Sept 28,page 57, had a story that I thought was rather interesting...... For the first time in Air Force history they will train more joystick pilots than new fighter and bomber pilots....... Red Flag 1,got any comment on that?.............

Big Teddy

[kgoerz]

He is a good speaker and a celebrity, thus the countless TV appearances and prime time speeches. But like all celebrities. The excitement of just hearing and seeing him talk is wearing off. People are starting to demand more. Like having him actually say something besides Me, Myself and I rhetoric.
I agree, blaming the past is starting to get old real fast.

[swpa19]

I think he should cease and desist with his campaigning and start governing. We've all seen about enough of his narcistic and egotistical rhetoric. Like the old saying goes. "Some leaders DEMAND respect. Others COMMAND it".

[Utah Bob]

His continual campaign speeches are wearing thin, even with some liberal friends of mine who supported him They are asking, "Where's the beef?".

Originally Posted by akv

I can't ever recall an article or news story suggesting the POTUS tone down his TV appearances?

It might not have been said, but many would agree that Clinton was on the news a bit too often. Given CNN, 'Clinton News Network'.

Obama is on the cover of Men's Health mag this month.

Why dose'nt someone, take Paint Shop Pro and draw him in ACU uniform with SGM John Letuli's tabs, and put it on the cover of GQ.

Newsweek could say, "Obama successfully completes 'Q-Course' while visiting troop last week at Ft. Bragg, NC. In as little as 7 days, Obama completed not only the 18A Officers Course, but also the 18A Supper Course. Obama is scheduled to finish is IOAC when he returns to the White House, all correspondance courses will be graded by his new assigned SPECOP SGM John Latuli. Obama is the oldest man ever to complete this grueling task in becoming a Special Forces soldier, out smarting and manuvering soldiers half his age. No comments have been made by his fellow students, they are all on special assignments".

Obama Rules

[tst43]

I agree with all that has been posted thus far in this thread. Whether you like him or not, whether you voted for him or not, the man is simply "appearing" too much and accomplishing very little. Now he is traveling to Denmark to lobby for the placement of the 2016 Olympics in Chicago. It is almost as if he has adult attention deficit (no pun intended) disorder and cannot concentrate.

[Trip_Wire (RIP)]

Yes, it seems like every time I turn on my TV the POTUS is trying to sell his 'cool-aid' healthcare bill or some other nonsense! I really am tired of his colgate smile!

[The Reaper]

Is it just me, or does anyone else think he is getting to be like one of those annoying telemarketing pitch men?

I hear the late Billy Mays coming on for the umpteenth time today to pimp the same old gadget, and I mute it or change the channel.

Same with the POTUS?

TR

[Defender968]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Is it just me, or does anyone else think he is getting to be like one of those annoying telemarketing pitch men?

I hear the late Billy Mays coming on for the umpteenth time today to pimp the same old gadget, and I mute it or change the channel.

Same with the POTUS?

TR

TR I feel the exact same way, he keeps saying the same thing over and over again (like his saying it will make it true), and all the while without really saying anything concrete, but promising the world, just like a TV salesman.

He starts talking and it's, "This is the greatest… insert program/bill/initiative here…. ever, it does everything for you with no downside what so ever, it shines, it cleans, it will take care of your children, it will lower your taxes while paying for healthcare, Let me be clear it will save the world in my first 2 years in office…..blah, blah, blah"

My father always says if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, and I now like you hit the up or down channel button as soon as the POTUS comes on.

[Utah Bob]

Socialist Health And Medical Wonderful Obama Wisdom

SHAM-WOW?

[afchic]

Originally Posted by Utah Bob

Socialist Health And Medical Wonderful Obama Wisdom

SHAM-WOW?

Now can you come up with one for the SLAP CHOP