Obama Ducking National Press, Because, See, They're Too Hard on Him

So he's giving interviews to ESPN, Entertainment Weekly, People, and regional media, in which the questions tend to be about sports of local cuisine. So you know, the hard questions.

I think even President Waffles could make it through such interviews. "Yes, I like your local sports clubs and I enjoy your local cuisine."

Just a series of "humanizing" interviews-- nothing about policy.

Now, my headline is not a lie. Obama really does think the national political press is too tough on him, and doesn't give him enough credit.

Remember 2008 and the Honeymoon Swoon of 2009? Yeah, Obama considered that a period of difficulties with a hostile press.

A few months after President Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package passed, he began to notice news reports, but not about the jobs the bill might create or how much of the country’s infrastructure it would repair. Instead, the articles focused on traffic jams.

“Traffic Set to Slow as Stimulus Gears Up,” as the headline on a 2009 article in USA Today read.

Jared Bernstein, an economist in the administration at the time, said the articles exemplified the White House’s problems with news media coverage. “The feeling was, ‘man, we can’t catch a break,’ ” he said.

Eyebrows raised.

Skipping a little:

The news media have played a crucial role in Mr. Obama’s career, helping to make him a national star not long after he had been an anonymous state legislator. As president, however, he has come to believe the news media have had a role in frustrating his ambitions to change the terms of the country’s political discussion. He particularly believes that Democrats do not receive enough credit for their willingness to accept cuts in Medicare and Social Security, while Republicans oppose almost any tax increase to reduce the deficit.

Privately and publicly, Mr. Obama has articulated what he sees as two overarching problems: coverage that focuses on political winners and losers rather than substance; and a “false balance,” in which two opposing sides are given equal weight regardless of the facts.

Yeah, the press completely gives equal weight to both sides and in no way expresses its strong preference for Obama's.

And three days ago he knocked he press corps thus:

Asked about how playing sports was similar to being president, Obama said: "It also turns out that political reporters are a lot like sports reporters. They've all got opinions, even if they didn't play."

Quite a statement who was quite certain that Presidenting was soooo easy that he'd be able to actually reduce the level of the seas before he'd done more than serve as an undistinguished, over-exposed senator for a eighteen months.

Balls, this guy, some assembly required.

On Fox Now: They just played a local reporter's question. It was "If you could have a superpower, what would it be?" Obama said, "Well this is kind of a weird one, but I'd like to be able to speak any language."

There you go.

Oh, then they played this new ad from the RNC:

posted by Ace at 06:00 PM

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