Maureen Dowd's new column proposes that all the squirtgun scolding after Joe Biden's press party reinforces the myth that Obama is cozy with the press. But Biden is kicking it with journalists, she argues, precisely because Obama is so consistently down on the Fourth Estate:
The press traveling with Obama on the campaign never had a lovey-dovey relationship with him. He treated us with aloof correctness, and occasional spurts of irritation... Sometimes on the campaign plane, I would watch Obama venture back to make small talk with the press, discussing food at an event or something light. Then I would see him literally back away a few moments later as a blast of questions and flipcams hit him.
I spend a lot less time near Obama than Times columnists, or the White House press corps, but that description definitely matches my experience on Obama's plane in the 2008 campaign. The plane was proximity without access. Obama was generally nearby; reporters could cover how he looked, what he said at events, or snippets of substance-free banter with the press. Yet he rarely took questions -- whether casually in the aisles or through scheduled press conferences -- and his aides focused on handpicked interviews over freewheeling free-for-alls. These tendencies have only hardened in the White House.
As president, Obama has done far fewer press conferences than recent predecessors. He had gone a whopping 300 days without a formal press conference when he summoned reporters to talk BP a few weeks back. (Had you even heard about that drought? Now imagine if President Bush tried that move.) Meanwhile, Obama and his aides often chide the "day-to-day chatter of cable television," and Obama recently offered this tart defense of his response to the oil spill: "I don't always have time to perform for the benefit of the cable shows."
Now politicians typically wrestle with the press, and many complaints about the 24-7 news cycle are on point. But Obama has not only chosen to empower TV-driven news coverage of his administration, he has done so at the cost of access for print and alternative media. The White House arranges far more TV interviews for the president than print interviews. (The line about performing for cable shows came during an interview with the "Today Show.") The decrease in official press conferences further limits access for print reporters, since it is the only venue for many print reporters to ever have a shot at questioning the president. And during one of the few press conferences that Obama has held as president, he made the highly unusual choice of refusing to take a single question from the four national newspapers (The Times, Journal, Washington Post and USA Today.) These are longstanding problems, but BP's never-ending story may bring them to a head.
Obama is rightly annoyed by the made-for-TV quality of oil spill criticism -- the main character needs to show more anger in this scene -- but instead of complaining on TV about TV, he should try changing the channel. He could hold more press conferences, and invite not only White House reporters, but also environmental experts for a deeper exchange on the crisis. (Think less emotion, more acoustic switches.) To engage people in the Gulf region, he could dust off some of the technology from the old days and convene an unfiltered, online town hall for the most popular questions from regular people and citizen media on the ground.
In other words, the solution to the White House's press woes are pretty obvious: Stop complaining about the media you have, and start engaging the media you want. Of course, that assumes Obama's stated desire for a deeper, more substantive conversation is genuine. He just has to prove it.
Ari Melber writes for The Nation, where this first appeared. (amelber at hotmail)
Follow Ari Melber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AriMelber
Robyn O'Brien: Calling For an Oil Spill Band-Aid of Epic Proportions (VIDEO)
This morning, as we watched a YouTube video called "Yours Truly, BP" one of my kids asked "Is that oil going to stay in the ocean forever, Mom?"
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/111965?RS_show_page=0#
The piece shows that Obama was too trusting of BP, the oil industry and federal regulators.
"Now, however, the president was suddenly standing up to take command of the cleanup effort. "In case you were wondering who's responsible," Obama told the nation, "I take responsibility." Sounding chastened, he acknowledged that his administration had failed to adequately reform the Minerals Management Service, the scandal-ridden federal agency that for years had essentially allowed the oil industry to self-regulate. "There wasn't sufficient urgency," the president said. "Absolutely I take responsibility for that." He also admitted that he had been too credulous of the oil giants: "I was wrong in my belief that the oil companies had their act together when it came to worst-case scenarios."
Despite his populist rhetoric, and that he was the candidate of change, he thinks he can work and negotiate with the big corporations, only to find out that he has been manipulated and lied to. It was the same with health care. Perhaps he will find his stride now and know from moment one he cant trust corporate self interests.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/demons-and-demonization/
Either Spun Spinners whose education was cut by Reagan, or NO LIFERS who know nothing
about what it takes to Put a product out the door. Confuse the IMAGE (over reality) of their
small minded world w/SUBSTANCE. FUNCTION BEST WHEN BEING SPUN.
Pillars of the dumming down of American. OMIT KEY Contexts, &CAUSE-EFFECT fundamentals They think that when something's announced it's equal to complete.
Last week it was reported BP was considering giving shareholders $10B in dividends.
Then yesterday when (Russert Trainee) Judy Woodruff reported that BP decided not to,
She reported that "A "Previous" dividend was controvercial." PREVIOUS?!
Is a week too long for a decision to be made? Or is she just one of those READERS like Larry King,
In 2000 when the Florida Attorney General (head of the Bush campaign there) refused to give
Dade County another hour to FINISH recounting their votes. Judy Woodruff had the audacity
to report that: "Now Florida has counted all their votes" What kind of insulting brainwashing
is that.
Obama gives a speech describing the 5 Constitutional dimnas he encountered when he looked at Guantanamo Bay. Think a singke one of these Morons reported this? Instead they roll their eyes
and start obsessing on the PHONY GAME OF POLITICS!
We did not vote for these puveyers of Republicans FICTION it is these bums who should be fired.
All ya'll ever do is talk about who's going to drag whom down if they got caught messing up . WHEN WILL WE SEE PEOPLE IN OFFICE ACTING LIKE ADULTS INSTEAD OF CHILDREN? When will we see the truth of what this war is about cause if it was about the twin towers or the oil it would've been over with two or so years ago. I mean wake up man. Ya'll are talking about who's using the toilet next lol. Journalists are just a piece of what goes on and you guys have no idea how much worse you make america look by opening your mouth.When will this change? When we get the next Mr.Roger's for our "neighborhood" ? I'm surprised that both Journalist and Political people in office haven't started to hit and kick like five year olds over adult situations yet like they do in mexico. Now that I'm sure the WWF fans would love to see. Who will you bring down with you if you get fired or who will you fire first before you get fired?
Every time I see the President jump through another media-created hoop (and the entire meme of lack of emotional engagement with this crisis is a media fabrication), I find myself sighing, a little more deeply with each passing circus trick, with dismay. Do the President and his advisors fail to realize that, by responding to media demands for hoop jumping, they lend a measure of legitimacy to these media speculations. When all these media pundits complain about his lack of emotional engagement, and he turns around and responds (in a rather pathetically disingenuous way) so as to make a show of just how angry he really is, much of the public takes that to mean the original criticism must therefore have had at least some merit.
I think he should continue to stay focused on what he is doing, and every week or two provide, by way of a speech or press conference, some really substantive updates of what the Administration and BP are doing. And every time some reporter asks a question about his "anger" or his "emotional engagement," the President should call out the question, in the most withering, blistering manner possible, so as to expose the reporter asking the question to be the ass he or she really is.
They are just spewing THEIR politics for their side. So why should I listen to them. I have my own thoughts on Obama and they are all good and supportive. The media should take heed instead of playing politics with the president. Oh, I know, they are all out for ratings just like Fox in fact competing with Fox. Unbelievable.
The memo was sent out to all media if you will recall. All the cable stations pounced on Obama all at once. Of course it is fixed all this Obama rhetoric.
President Obama's poll numbers have NOT changed since the oil spill on how he is handling himself with his presidenial duties as president. As of tonight, his numbers have been holding at 50, more thant G. W. Bush's numbers after Katrina.
He can not do it all! It is politically impossible for him to satisfy every voice out there. Do we not understand this as a society? Why all worked up all of sudden under this president? I seem to recall 8 years of a president wiping his ass with the constitution - where were you all then? How soon we all forget that there was a lot of complaining early on about how often Obama was on television - now it's not enough...grow up will you please? Are we really willing to lose this guy after four years? Not this citizen! He may be our last, best hope. We need to start protecting our turf like the Republicans fall on their swords for Bush. I will seriously consider leaving this country if a republican ever finds his or her way back to the White House. Circle the wagons and protect the agenda and especially OUR messenger - absolute freedom depends on it.
Oil gushes in the gulf and people die. Alaska has a pipeline leak polluting the Arctic and oil pollutes a river in Utah killing fish and poisoning water supplies. Greed kills coal miners in West Virginia. This is happening today! Where is the national recognition and anger that we are failing to commit to alternative energy. Talk from Obama and Congress but no real national commitment to get us off the oil dependence is visible. Citizens, that's us, demand low oil prices but don't demand alternatives. We, as a people, are causing the pollution. We are unwilling to raise taxes on oil and demand alternatives. Species are eliminated in the gulf, people die and we want cheap gasoline. We are not the shepherds of this wonderful world. We are, instead, the polluters, the destroyers. Accept, no, demand, higher taxes on the petrochemicals and demand the taxes go to alternatives now, not next year , not in some safe long term future that won't inconvenience us. Your children will thank you. Have some guts. We need to think beyond the end of our collective noses and get some courage. How many deaths in the Gulf and dead coal miners are you willing to pump into your gas tank? ----Guy Watson
France, 70% per gallon is taxes