Oh, Obama! (Media Moments)

Number 44 is always in the news these days...

Leno's Special Olympics -  You have to wonder about the President's (or his staff's) wisdom in going on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  True, Leno is a fan and was always going to play nice, but c'mon, a sitting President on a talk show?  What about equal time for the other networks?  Why give just one the ratings boost?  Payback?  What about inadvertent gaffs?  Was the public promotion of policy worth the risk?  It's enough to make you think the Prez's office is run by the Special Olympics.  Oops, my turn to apologize.  Sorry.  Good to know Obama bowls, though.

Stunning Bonuses - On the Leno show, Obama pronounced himself 'stunned' at the bonuses given out to AIG.  Too bad, then, it came out later that his own team created the loophole that allowed the bonuses in the first place.  But taking a long view, which the President espouses at every turn, makes it pretty clear the loophole was a reasonable compromise, so why act 'stunned'?  Maybe it's because the President didn't know what his team had done until the fecal matter hit the rotating metal cooling device?  Or maybe it's because he never expected those sleazy execs to use the loophole?  If so, maybe he should spend a little more time in staff meetings and a little less on TV...

Salaam, Iran - Can we ever do anything to please the leaders of Iran?  Our President graciously reaches out to the Iranian people with a video message of hope and engagement, and he gets bum reviews from the Ayatollah.  Something or other about actions speaking louder than words.  Well, as disturbing as this rebuff is, Iran's supreme leader might be forgiven his skepticism given he's experienced the past eight years with the Bush administration.  (If we were jaundiced about our leaders, how do you think he felt?).  It's far too early to know whether Obama's message is a genuine attempt at engagement, or political window dressing, as the Ayatollah fears.  It's our hope, though, that it's the genuine article, and better times are ahead.

Our President has been very busy these days.  And we, the people, are generally happy to see him out there gettin' 'er done.  There will be rough spots which will draw criticism (ahem), but by and large it's better to be open and talking (even on Leno) than closed and scheming (the Cheney plan).  Roll on 44!