American Missive

ATLANTA— As the transition wears on and as Barack Obama continues to draw closer to assuming the presidency, there have been a few articles trickling out that talk about his increasing trouble handling the media crush that is enveloping him and his family. The character trait that I think shows through most in these episodes is condescension towards reporters. Reference the Halloween “break away”; his combative interview on Rod Blagojevich; or now his most recent exploits to avoid the media in Hawaii, as described by Politico.

The Politico article points out that all presidents initially struggle with the new media scrutiny they receive. But Politico also points out that Mr. Obama seems to be struggling more- and sooner- than recent Presidents. The article attributes that to Mr. Obama being one of the few recent presidents not to have had prior experience within the intense “media bubble”- either through having been a governor or through having been a part of the public eye for a substantial period of time.

As I documented before, Mr. Obama is one of the least experienced Presidents in the last 100 years, based on my review of Wikipedia entries for former presidents and presidential nominees. 

One of the primary reasons I did not vote for Mr. Obama and that I did not get excited about his candidacy was his inexperience.  I continue to worry that he will not have the fortitude to stand up to pressure. For these reasons, the recent media outbursts are interesting to me.

Most of the articles about his recent media struggles are coming at the topic from a human interest perspective. They talk about friends who say he will be sad to let go of his blackberry. Others who say he prefers privacy and worries he will not be able to get away for quiet moments.  As I read these articles, I get a sense the authors are trying to elicit my sympathy for Mr. Obama.

I will say -  I have little sympathy for him in this respect. He is the one who had the amazing audacity to run for president with so little experience. He is the one who prefers to invite comparisons of himself to Lincoln, FDR, JFK and Ronald Reagan.

I have wondered if the side of Mr. Obama that longs for privacy and reacts condescendingly to intrusive reporters is the same side of him that caused the British government to assess him as “aloof” this summer.  The British report (and some notable U.S. reports) described a side of Mr. Obama that preferred not to engage in issues while in the legislature but rather to sit on the sidelines and critique.  This is the side of Mr. Obama that did not impress me.

I always worried that Mr. Obama would quickly find it was easier to play president and talk president this past summer than it is to actually be president and accordingly he would start to buckle somewhat under the pressure.  When I hear these stories about his recent troubles with the media crush, I cannot help but think “Buck up Mr. Obama. You brought this on yourself. The world is now your stage- dazzle me.”