Why So Serious, Obama?

The biggest takeaway from Barack Obama's first press conference as president-elect: campaign trail Obama has left the building.

President-elect Obama's soaring speeches will be remembered as the hallmark of his 2008 run, which never would have happened, of course, without a soaring speech in 2004. Even while he sought a more calm and subdued tone in the general election than during his primary battle with Hillary Clinton, his last week brought some of the most powerful rhetorical flashes of the campaign, including his moving eulogy for the grandmother who raised him and his rallying victory speech on Tuesday night.

But the election's over now and at today's presser, Obama was sober, deliberate, and focused on the nitty gritty of actually preparing to run the country. With the exception of a light discussion of the family puppy (he's hoping to find "mutts like me" for the kids) and an odd reference to contacting dead presidents for advice ("I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances"), Obama was dead serious in discussing the severity of the economic problems he will inherit. He began by responding to today's report showing unemployment at a 14-year high, saying bluntly: "We are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime and we're going to have to act swiftly to resolve it." He wasted no time with swagger, gloating, or celebration, keeping his attention squarely on the economy and the details of such immediate concerns as staffing the White House, staying on the same page as President Bush in planning the transition, and negotiating a fiscal stimulus package to relieve struggling American workers.

Despite the change in tone, Obama continued to reinforce the major themes of his campaign, weaving the broader picture of an economy powered from the "bottom-up" into the more specific tasks of growing jobs, saving local governments from fiscal ruin, and preserving the auto industry. His ability to connect specific policies to an overriding philosophy has been one of the most impressive features of his campaign and helped distinguish him from previous candidates like John Kerry in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000.

Obama's barn-burner speeches will serve him well in selling his ideas to the American people (who isn't looking forward to hearing him speak at his inauguration?), but as the problems facing America become responsibilities rather than rallying cries on the campaign trail, expect to see the sterner, graver Obama 3.0 a lot more often.

Comments

[DennyCrane]

So? Were you expecting a soaring speech at a press conference? The campaign is over. Those of us who believe in him and supported him are glad he's getting serious. We want the controlled, highly-disciplined campaigner we saw, someone who's calm and cool in a crisis and not wasting time.

[sclucie]

Good Lord, he just lost his grandmothe, and did not have the time or space to even stop. What is wrong with you?

[dholl69]

Let's not forget Obama is also in serious mourning over his grandmother. A lot is coming at him at once. I am sure he will show more of that charasmatic style as he goes through this transition period.

[apexfork]

He was asked directly if high-income earners (whom he said should be taxed higher) should expect to their tax bill to increase in 2009.

He did not answer that question like a President. He answered it like a candidate, still defending the policy, trying to sell it. The sale is over, just tell us what we bought.

He's transitioning right now so I can't hold this slip-up against him, I just hope he has more direct answers as he moves forward.

[aofh]

Day one is two months away and already he is running. This tells me that he takes the job seriously, and was taking it seriously throughout his campaign. When people realize that he is serious, our perception of the nature of politics will change and our belief in "Yes, we can" will strengthen. Obama is raising the bar for all of us, and for future Presidents.

[AnalyzeIT]

Mr. Obama please take a couple days of rest. There is grandmother Toot's funeral to deal with. PLEASE take time for that and a day or two to rest. PLEASE for your sake as well as ours.

[SisterArtemis]

From the article: "His ability to connect specific policies to an overriding philosophy has been one of the most impressive features of his campaign..."

Obama will undoubtedly reshape what he attempts to do as he faces the realities of political struggle at the highest level of office, and opposition to specific changes he will attempt to make. But it's critical that his policies reflect the themes of not just his campaign, but his philosophy of governance. Otherwise, he'll go into the White House with a set of fragmented policies, and a high likelihood of getting pulled off course.

I don't remember any president-elect getting into the action so fast. This is good. I also am impressed by the serious demeanor (relieved by the puppy and seance comments) he displayed at the podium. How Obama "looks" is important to how he is perceived over these next months. He needs to look like he's ready to get down to business (and of course, he needs to actually do it, too) in order to foster trust and willingness to build working solutions between disparate interests in Congress.

On another note: He got a little flack over the Nancy Reagon comment, and I'd love to know if she was offended or understood the light-hearted nature of it, but more importantly, the press in the room laughed. It was a good moment, I thought. Also loved the serious tone in talking about the Puppy issue. This guy's got a LOT goin' on.

[Iowamutt]

The first press conference was a home run. As for the "odd reference" about contacting dead presidents for advice, lets not forget that the reporter literally asked Obama if he had been in contact with all the "living presidents" as though there were another types of presidents to contact.

[JimR]

That's not unusual phrasing. What if the reporter had asked "Have you been in contact with other U.S. presidents?" That implies he was also contacting dead ones.

Don't blame the reporter for that one.

[jobecky20]

It would be very inappropriate to give soaring rhetoric, pretending everything is hunky dory. We need to face reality now...which doesn't look very good. It's time for the POTUS to give us straight talk.

[XME]

Yup, there's a big difference between a campaign to get elected, and actually being president. After all of the soaing inspirational speeches, he now needs to be sure to bring his supporters back down to Earth and remind them that things are pretty grim, that he's not a "god" and he's not going to be able to fix everything overnight, or even focus on "smaller" issues for a while, in light of pressing economic issues.

I think he's primarly trying to tamp down any unrealistic expectations from supporters...otherwise, they could really throw a wrench into the success of his presidency.

[whsmith]

He's going to tell us the truth folks. However, I wouldn't give up on him bringing his soaring optimism back when necessary. He's not even the president yet and the weight of the world is now on his shoulders... give him time.

[Glenn1441]

Wow, How insightful. Watching the press conference live, I didn't discern that myself...

[Shieldmaiden]

This press conference was a welcome change from the nonsense of the Bush era. We finally have a smart person in office!!!!

[Pupadup4oBama]

I thought the exact same thing - I was watching and thought - WOW< this guy really IS going to be the POTUS....i actually want to LISTEN to him and WATCH him. Can't wait for his state of the union addresses!!! :)

[jtdolfin49]

I for one was glad to see him address the issues in the serious and sober manner in which he did. I wanted to know that I elected a president who would not brag about the win but continue to reassure us he wasn't just running a popularity contest. People have critized him for having his family leave the stage on 11/4/08 after initially bringing them out. I wanted to hear what he had to say not see how the family looked(not to say they didn't all look fabulous! : ) He did a great job of reassuring me that he does have the poeples best interests in mind and that I did indeed vote for the right candidate and I'm sure he will continue to do so as he goes forward. I have great faith in our choice.

[JALKO]

It will be nice to have an adult in charge.

[Rule Of Law]

Bush and Cheney are adults--they just grew up to be thieves.