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Grading the Press Conference
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02/10/09 10:28 AM ET
So: President Obama held his first primetime press conference last night, and I have a few thoughts to share.
First, on style, Obama scores high marks. Simply put, he looked presidential. Aside from the tacky teleprompters (what’s with those? C’mon — read off some paper!), he possessed a firm command of the subjects he was addressing, and presented the facts with precision, style and grace. That’s reassuring, and something the country certainly needs, particularly on a dicey topic.
On the political front, he gets high marks as well. Oh, his handlers and the media will state there was nothing political last night, but we know better. If you notice, the president’s responses were particularly long-winded, loquacious, even … Some would argue he had a lot to say, several points to make that needed to be said. Perhaps that’s true, but it was also calculating. See, if Obama is talking, then the press can’t pepper him with topics that get off-message. By controlling his responses, he was in effect controlling the press conference; something every president strives to do but only few are adept enough to pull off (see: Bush 43).
Finally, on the actual content of his responses, I fear the president missed the mark. I anxiously awaited him to rise above the political cage-matches all over this town. He could have dismissed the previous eight years as part of the tired old way of governing in this stultifying den and offered fresh views on how he was steering us toward recovery. Instead, he used them as a crutch. And I fear that will be his continual, sand-bag defense for the next four years: “Don’t look at me, I’m just trying to clean up the mess I inherited.”
That is true, and sometimes it’s worth reminding the nation. Yet leadership looks forward. And writing another trillion-dollar check because your predecessor wrote a similar one, only he just spent it the wrong way, is misguided at best, and a disastrous prescription to fix what’s ailing the nation.
Visit www.armstrongwilliams.com .
First, on style, Obama scores high marks. Simply put, he looked presidential. Aside from the tacky teleprompters (what’s with those? C’mon — read off some paper!), he possessed a firm command of the subjects he was addressing, and presented the facts with precision, style and grace. That’s reassuring, and something the country certainly needs, particularly on a dicey topic.
On the political front, he gets high marks as well. Oh, his handlers and the media will state there was nothing political last night, but we know better. If you notice, the president’s responses were particularly long-winded, loquacious, even … Some would argue he had a lot to say, several points to make that needed to be said. Perhaps that’s true, but it was also calculating. See, if Obama is talking, then the press can’t pepper him with topics that get off-message. By controlling his responses, he was in effect controlling the press conference; something every president strives to do but only few are adept enough to pull off (see: Bush 43).
Finally, on the actual content of his responses, I fear the president missed the mark. I anxiously awaited him to rise above the political cage-matches all over this town. He could have dismissed the previous eight years as part of the tired old way of governing in this stultifying den and offered fresh views on how he was steering us toward recovery. Instead, he used them as a crutch. And I fear that will be his continual, sand-bag defense for the next four years: “Don’t look at me, I’m just trying to clean up the mess I inherited.”
That is true, and sometimes it’s worth reminding the nation. Yet leadership looks forward. And writing another trillion-dollar check because your predecessor wrote a similar one, only he just spent it the wrong way, is misguided at best, and a disastrous prescription to fix what’s ailing the nation.
Visit www.armstrongwilliams.com
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