Wednesday, March 25

Obama Press Conference Recap

I have two confessions to make. First I have been working on this post all day, and at 11pm, it's still not done. That's what happens when the field in front of your neighbor's house catches on fire and you have to watch their kids while four fire trucks take care of business. Despite the fact that the world revolves around Washington politics, life happens.

Second, I have to confess that I was helping kids with homework and completely missed about 75 percent of the press conference. But what I did see assured me that I probably didn't miss much.

If you were also doing homework with your kids last night, then you can read the transcript of the press conference here. I personally like to read the transcripts more than watch the event because then I'm not swayed by O's boyish good looks, suave mannerisms, and smooth talking. That's why I'm not an official member of the White House press corp, they would never fall prey to such amateurish antics.

But since you come here for summary and analysis, let me sum it up for you in three words: Yada, yada, yada. And here's my analysis: Yada, yada, yada.

You know it's a bust when the only thing the "professionals" can point to as the BIG MOMENT was when Ed Henry from CNN had the gall to ask the President why "he didn't spew outrage as soon as he learned about the AIG bonuses. The president, with an icy stare, responded that he 'likes to know what he's talking about' before he speaks."

The big moment. That was it.

But for what it's worth, here are a few of my lingering observations.

Biggest Non-Story: I'm not bothered that O used a teleprompter for his prepared remarks. And neither is Robert. So move on people. What would've been odd is if he used the teleprompter to respond to the questions with prepared answers.


Obligatory Compliment:
I like how orderly his press conferences are and how he calls on a variety of different news outlets. Although I think the NYT and Washington Post are feeling a little slighted today.

Biggest shock of the night: That 1 in 5 kids in America are living on the street. Wow, I'd love to see the source on that stat because I just don't believe it at all. But if it's true, I hope they didn't hear O's answer to the previous question about taxing charitable giving.

The lamest question of the night: Ann Compton from ABC Radio asked that if during his 64 days in office, have any decisions been made because of race? Or have any foreign leaders treated him differently because he is the nation’s first African-American president? Really? We have an economic crisis, two wars, education in a mess, the world burning to a crisp and Ann wants to know if he has had his feelings hurt by other world leaders because of his skin color.

Most Noticeable Absence: Not one question about Iraq and Afghanistan. None. Zilch. There was a question about peace in the Middle East, but nothing about the two countries that dominated the political agenda and news for the last 7 years. I guess it really is about the economy, stupid.

The Best Reassuring Moment: It wasn’t so many tax days ago – five years – that Mr. Obama was in a far lower tax bracket. Now, he is in the highest, so he seemed to speak for the rest of the wealthiest Americans. “It’s not going to cripple them,” Mr. Obama said. “They’ll still be well-to-do." From Jeff Zeleny at the NYT.

That's my take. What's yours?

3 comments:

happyathome said...

I think the most amusing answer from the President came from the AIG question pertaining to NY. He stated he needed a couple of days to take in the information before he reacted. So it is o.k. if he takes a couple of days to react but when the Stimulus Package was being pushed through and two days to review it were being asked for , it had to be done right away! I see how it works......

Anonymous said...

happyathome, his answer to that question actually disturbed me a little. He claimed in his first press conference that he would read all items line by line, word by word. When you know something is going to happen, then why would you need a couple of days to go through it (again)?

The answer was disingenuous.

About the press conference as a whole, I did not really see the point. It was a chance for the news organizations to ask tough questions that were lightly touched on and then passed up.

Viveca said...

Everything he is doing is crippling us. What he says and what he is doing reminds me of that old MAD Cartoon strip from many years back. It would show a man petting a little dog but his shadow was kicking the little dog. Remember that?

Next week is going to be a BIG. Everyone call into your representatives on the switchboard number -- 202-224-3121 -- tell them to vote NO. We cannot let them nationalize our health care system. They already control our money. They've already wracked up a HUGE debt on our kids. Now they are after our health.

If we really want that level of care why don't we all just move to Cuba. No thanks.

Call --- get your friends to call. Then call some more.

Viveca

P.S. Going to the Mark Levin book signing tomorrow. That cheers me up.

 

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