Sigh…. Perhaps it’s a sign of impending pundit burnout. Or a sign of eyes nearly popping out as I remain addicted to reading a host of websites and blogs of all persuasions.
But I KNEW some stories would fall a certain way…
For instance, when it was announced the Barack Obama wouldn’t attend the Gridiron, I told friends: “Just watch. This will become a big issue now. You can almost write this story before you read it anywhere.” And here is one of them.
And now there’s the news about Obama’s appearance on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show tomorrow night. So I told someone: “Just watch. You see stories about how he’s cheapening the Presidency and ruining his image and clout.”
But WAIT! It now turns out that President John Kennedy had appeared on Jack Paar’s Show. Paar Shmaar, what does it matter since it gives us a hook to go into attack mode and score partisan points…
Here’s a bit of background for those who aren’t old enough to remember:
1. In the 1960s Richard Nixon was blasted by some because he dared to cheapen the political process by appearing on “Laugh In” saying “Sock It To Me?” This is after he played piano on Paar’s Show.
2. When Bill Clinton ran for President, some blasted him because he played (a not bad but don’t-quit-your-day-job) sax on Arsenio. How could a serious candidate pander like that?
These kinds of appearances WORKED for these candidates and they became new ways for candidates to get their messages out. Now, during election year, there are so many candidates who want to get on talk and daytime TV shows that one year a bright network exec will give them their own talk show (oops.. Huckabee has one already..).
Similarly, when George Bush and Dick Cheney came into office they displayed a propensity for giving interviews to right wing talk radio hosts. Mainstream networks could wait. First priority was Rush and Sean.
Where was the brou-ha-ha over their demeaning the offices that they held that were supposed to transcend rank partisanship by going on the programs of broadcasters who spend three hours a day saying how great all Republicans are, how ill-intentioned and anti-military Democrats are, and how mushy and dumb independent voters and moderates are?
But these appearances WORKED in helping them communicate to people whose support they sought. But Obama’s appearance can be a negative if he comes off looking like a boring guest, or someone who wants to be President but isn’t. And there is another big risk for him as well::
Certainly it hasn’t been lost on Leno how Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart has become more than just your typical comedian by his ability to bluntly ask what people are asking and say what many people are saying. In one sense, Obama could face tougher questions from Leno than he would from the press. Leno’s will soon move to an earlier slot, five days a week in what many consider a NBC cost-cutting move. Leno will want to use the huge ratings he’ll get to persuade those sampling to watch him when he makes the big move.
The LA Times’ Andrew Malcolm adds:
No doubt, Leno will ask the president about the economy, which the comedian says is so bad that some local robbers walked into a bank and asked directions to a 7-Eleven. He said the economy was so bad that Larry King is now wearing a belt, can’t afford suspenders anymore.
But if Obama comes off well and in the end it shows that it helped increase his poll numbers and clout among people who are more inclined to watch late night talk shows than partisan radio or cable shows, then you might see a President Obama — or a President Palin — do an evening talk show again in the future.
This could spread to other TV venues: perhaps we’ll see Alan Keyes on The Jerry Spring Show (he’d fit right in).
The bottom line about the noses out of joint over Obama daring to skip the Gridiron thrown by elite mainstream media types to keep a family commitment and then daring to appear on Leno’s show (which he was on before he became President) is this: If it’s a slow news day or you want readership, its easy to whip together a story or post about a controversy.
If Americans got 1 cent for expressions of outrage in the new and old media and saved them up, then the U.S. would have a surplus and be buying up China’s properties, businesses and bonds….
Prediction: When Obama finishes his Leno appearances those who support him or like him will be impressed, and those who don’t will say he fizzled or demeaned his office and cheapened the majesty of the Presidency. The reactions will be mostly partisan. The real key will be in what happens in polls in coming months — and whether future Presidents see this ultimate merging of politics and entertainment as a valuable new communications tool or something that can never be tried again.
So Obama be warned: if you go on a late night talk show like JFK did you could be as poorly received by the public as he was.
Now, if Obama goes on “Dancing With The Stars” with Nancy Pelosi: that might be a bit of a stretch even though politicians of both parties have provided voters with a song and a dance for years.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.