Thoughts On Press Conference Coverage

No big deal. I was expecting the same old-same old, and it's what I got. But I did have fun reading some of the analysis from the pundits. I saw these on Politico.

A few samples:

Larry J. Sabato, Professor of Politics, University of Virginia: It was a tour de force, and Obama proved he was fully in command on a wide variety of matters. If he can just learn to add a bit more humor, he'll be the equal of JFK--the acknowledged master of the forum.

Gee, I wonder what kind of politics they're teaching at Virginia? The last line cracks me up: JFK is remembered as a god for a lot of things, sure, but when is the last time you heard somebody say, "JFK - national hero, unequalled talent. Yes, he was a master of the - drum roll - press conference."

Bradley A. Blakeman, Republican strategist, consultant, entrepreneur:
President Teleprompter was at it again. I cannot recall the last time, if ever, a President used a Teleprompter at a Press Conference. The President must learn to be less scripted.

I agree, but the folks that make 'prompters must be pretty happy with the all of the publicity lately. Except for one small detail: it's a brand name, and it's spelled TelePrompTer. The brand name went generic, so nobody bothers to spell it that way anymore. I don't know why that bugs me, except the old-fashioned TelePrompTer spelling just looked cool.

David Biespiel, Poet and writer, Attic Writers Workshop: My take is that tonight the nation saw up close President Obama as Professor in Chief. By mid-conference, he was letting the students--reporters, citizens--know what they could expect as a passing grade on the test: 4 million jobs, improve credit markets, stabilize housing values, stem the contraction, and create growth in the economy.

Oh. Well, let me know when the contraction's stabilized and growth is created. Then the students - citizens (I guess Obama's no longer a lowly citizen or something), reporters, so forth - can celebrate. Leave it to a modern day poet to call a president "Professor in Chief." I'm guessing this dude's stuff doesn't even rhyme.