White House Strategy: All Obama, All the Time

And what is 'it,' anyway?

(NEWSER) - Jon Stewart has noticed a recurring theme in the coverage of the president’s post-election press conference: The pundits are all eager to know if Barack Obama "gets it," he explained on last night’s Daily Show in a segment titled "The Mourning After." But they’re less than clear on what "it" is. “I mean, as pronouns go, ‘it’ is amongst the vaguest,” Stewart pointed out. “‘It’ won’t even choose a sex.” More»

'TV loves a ruckus,' he says

(AP) - President Obama today denounced the media's emphasis on angry protesters at health care town halls, the AP reports. "TV loves a ruckus," he said. Trying to sell his overhaul plan amid an increasingly noisy and partisan debate, Obama told a crowd of about 1,300 in Montana: "What you haven't seen on TV and what makes me proud are the many constructive meetings going on all over the country." More»

Broadcasters say 'overexposed' prez wastes valuable time

(NEWSER) - Networks are not happy about the primetime hour that President Obama's July 22 news conference took up, reports Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post. Rahm Emanuel called the top brass at all three networks to ensure they carried the event. The networks both resent the pressure and complain that they’re not getting their money’s worth. “There was nothing” newsworthy, says one CBS VP. “There hardly ever is these days.” More»

(NEWSER) - Say what you want about President Nixon, but at least his press conferences were entertaining. “It was the Colosseum, and everybody’s thumb was down,” recalls staffer Pat Buchanan. “It was something worth watching.” The same can’t be said of President Obama’s all-too-frequent appearances. Last week’s health-care presser was “arguably the most listless televised hour” he’s delivered yet, writes Felix Gillette in the New York Observer. Obama’s become “nearly unwatchable.” More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama maintained his trademark cool at last night's press conference, but he seemed back in campaign mode as he offered "well-honed arguments and sound bites" in favor of health care reform, writes Jane Sasseen of BusinessWeek. The president did a good job selling his plan, but he steadfastly avoided any specifics on the most contentious questions. The result: a press conference "devoid of much insight" that allowed the president to frame the debate, Sasseen concludes. More»