President Barack Obama may be the most publicly active commander in chief in American history.
As has been the tradition with former presidents, Obama publishes weekly radio addresses and makes them available to the public.
However, his multitude of television appearances since assuming the presidency has caused some concern among some people.
In a March 26 Time Magazine article titled “Obamathon: Is the President Overexposed?” reporter James Poniewozik wrote that Obama was risking overexposure during his weeklong affair with the media following his inauguration — an affair that appears to have no end in sight.
Then in September, Obama recorded appearances on five separate political talk shows within the same weekend and became the first sitting president to appear on a late-night talk show when he was a guest on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Whether Obama’s publicity actually works is debatable.
A Sept. 14 ABC News/Washington Post poll showed that the more people hear about his party-sponsored health care plan, the less they like it.
This supports the notion that many Americans are screaming for the plan to be scrapped.
In a Sept. 19 Washington Post article, reporter Anne Kornblut wrote, “White House officials said they believe Obama is still in a position to persuade voters, if not members of Congress, each time he speaks about the need for health care reform.”
While it is true that America need a visible president, they do not need the same rhetoric and rewritten messages on a teleprompter pounded into their minds on an almost daily basis.
A struggling economy and a 10 percent unemployment rate inevitably causes more people to examine and blame the president, but the extreme visibility of Obama is providing is simply not what Americans desire.
Publicity to a certain extent is commendable and encouraged, but there is a fine line between persuading voters to support a good cause and merely using a favorable approval rating with charm, a smile and chuckles to push an agenda.
Patrick Levy is a communication freshman and may be reached at [email protected]
