Barack Obama is a scintillating orator. That’s partly because, like his Illinois progenitor, Abraham Lincoln, he’s a talented writer who can turn memorable and meaningful phrases.
Unlike Lincoln, who loathed extemporaneous speaking, Obama, who began his presidential campaign as an indifferent debater, has become more than passably good in response to questioning, in spite of the long uhs that punctuate his responses. As more than one commentator has mentioned in the past ten hours, the President’s mastery of detail during his Tuesday prime time news conference was stunning. Clearly, this president is fully engaged and on top of his game.
So, do I want to retract my earlier assertions that the President is at risk of becoming overexposed and thereby hampering his effectiveness as a leader, assertions I’ve made here, here, and here? No. I still believe that the President is so at risk.
If the point of putting Obama on ESPN to share his picks in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament or to spend time in The Tonight Show’s guest chair was to underscore the president’s likability, there’s no need of that. Obama, for example, was liked long before he and his family did that disastrous interview with that Hollywood gossip journalist during his campaign. Because Obama exudes humanity, empathy, and passion in more conventional political settings, he has no need to dilute the impact of his communications in them by these extraneous appearances.
Richard Nixon, largely deemed unlikable by the public even immediately following his election to the presidency in 1968, was probably well-advised to appear on ‘Laugh-In’ to ask, “Sock it to me?” before his inauguration. Nixon was a pol in need of humanizing.
My advice to the President and his handlers: Mr. Obama is and ought to be the administration’s communicator-in-chief. News conferences like the one he did last night will contribute more to his stock as a president and his capacity to address our nation’s multiple challenges than will more face time on Leno or ESPN. The latter sorts of appearances, for the most part, will lessen his effectiveness and impact as a leader over the long haul.
There may be times for the President to make “soft touch” media appearances. Right now, with two wars ongoing, unemployment at an alarming rate, and big businesses taking the country for a ride, people want a president they already like working hard for them. Obama’s appearance last night assured us of that. Keep that kind of thing up, Mr. President. You’re doing fine.
See here.