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Not Ready for Prime Time
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02/10/09 01:14 PM ET
With all due respect to Armstrong Williams, the first Obama press conference hardly merits high marks for style or substance. It is hard not to look presidential standing in the grandeur of the East Room.
To be honest, I went into the press conference with an open mind — even the president’s most ardent opponents will admit that Mr. Obama could sound articulate reading the phonebook. No, my problem with the press conference was that his answers went on and on and on — without answering the underlying substance of the questions he was asked.
Why couldn’t the president simply have answered the first question crisply when posed with how the government’s action with the stimulus package would help, rather than hurt America? This, in essence, is what I’ve found lacking with the president’s public appearances since he assumed office.
As my friend and “Hardball” host Chris Matthews noted last night — it is as if the president seeks to sell us a car without letting us look under the hood or on the inside. I only wish he would have said: “If we act with a true stimulus package, X will happen. If we don’t act, Y will happen.” Instead, we heard the message of hope and change turn into one of doom and gloom.
Actions speak louder than words — the steep decline of the stock market on the heels of Obama’s press conference and his Treasury secretary’s proposed bank bailout have failed to inspire the financial markets we so desperately need to inspire with confidence. A drop in the Dow of 382 points is less than inspiring.
Last night’s performance was hardly inspiring. The president can do better — must do better to inspire confidence rather than fear in the markets and to the American consumer. This plan isn’t about the president — it is about the American people and what is in their best interests. I hope the new president considers this as his role in the days to come.
To be honest, I went into the press conference with an open mind — even the president’s most ardent opponents will admit that Mr. Obama could sound articulate reading the phonebook. No, my problem with the press conference was that his answers went on and on and on — without answering the underlying substance of the questions he was asked.
Why couldn’t the president simply have answered the first question crisply when posed with how the government’s action with the stimulus package would help, rather than hurt America? This, in essence, is what I’ve found lacking with the president’s public appearances since he assumed office.
As my friend and “Hardball” host Chris Matthews noted last night — it is as if the president seeks to sell us a car without letting us look under the hood or on the inside. I only wish he would have said: “If we act with a true stimulus package, X will happen. If we don’t act, Y will happen.” Instead, we heard the message of hope and change turn into one of doom and gloom.
Actions speak louder than words — the steep decline of the stock market on the heels of Obama’s press conference and his Treasury secretary’s proposed bank bailout have failed to inspire the financial markets we so desperately need to inspire with confidence. A drop in the Dow of 382 points is less than inspiring.
Last night’s performance was hardly inspiring. The president can do better — must do better to inspire confidence rather than fear in the markets and to the American consumer. This plan isn’t about the president — it is about the American people and what is in their best interests. I hope the new president considers this as his role in the days to come.
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