What Now, Jon?

Maybe it has something to do with his failure to deliver on campaign promises?

(NEWSER) - President Obama is officially running for reelection , but somehow his campaign slogan has gone from "Yes We Can" to "You Know, Whatever," Jon Stewart complained last night on the Daily Show . Obama's first campaign video features supporters with a disturbing lack of enthusiasm, saying (and Stewart is, of course, paraphrasing here) things like, "I mean, I don't really like him, I don't really trust him, but what are we gonna do? Learn someone else's name?" More»

What was up with the anger—and unanswered questions?

(NEWSER) - “Ten days after we started bombing Libya, President Obama took to the podium to convince Americans that we should … bomb Libya. Starting 10 days ago,” noted Jon Stewart last night. The speech may have been basically well-received , but not by Stewart: First of all, the president seemed angry. Second of all, he left a few questions unanswered. Like, uh, are we or are we not taking out Gadhafi? And why are we in Libya instead of any number of other countries experiencing unrest? And are we staying there indefinitely? More»

And he's fighting the Republic...an Empire

(NEWSER) - Before its hiatus, the Daily Show was mocking Obama and the Democrats—but a lot has changed in two weeks. Jobless benefits, the 9/11 first responders bill, and the DADT repeal, to name a few. Does this make the president, as all the media insist on calling him, “the comeback kid”? Absolutely not, said Jon Stewart last night: “Obama’s not the comeback kid … he’s Luke Skywalker!” More»

President soberly defends record, appeals to young viewers to vote

(NEWSER) - Critics are predictably split on President Obama's much-hyped Daily Show appearance last night, but no one seems to think he single-handedly saved—or doomed—Democrats:

• Though Jon Stewart and Obama are both funny in their own ways, they managed "to not be very funny together for the show's entire 22 minutes," writes Hank Stuever in the Washington Post . "Obama seemed resiliently cool as ever, ready-made for just about anything one can do on television ... But that anything—a surprise moment, or a difficult question, or a failed attempt at humor—never quite arrived."
• Also in the Post , Dana Milbank weighs in: "As in his MTV appearance a couple of weeks ago, Obama didn't try to connect with his youthful audience. He was serious and defensive," and even had "a Brownie moment" when he insisted that "Larry Summers did a heckuva job."

President Obama drops to 21st place

(NEWSER) - President Obama, chosen as the world's most influential man by the readers of online mag AskMen in 2008, didn't even crack the top 20 this time around. This year, the half-million readers who voted on the top 49 named Jon Stewart as the most influential man of 2010, describing the Comedy Central host as "the most trusted man in America." Obama, who was in third place last year, came in at 21st, just behind Mad Men producer Matthew Weiner—and just ahead of Spanish chef Ferran Adria. Click here for the full list. More»