Talk About Unprofessional!
Posted: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:23:19
Obama to appear on The View! Wow talk about a joke. How could people respect this guy!
http://www.examiner.com/x-34929-Manhatt ... n-Thursday
http://www.examiner.com/x-34929-Manhatt ... n-Thursday
If you look at President Obama's poll numbers today, you will understand that he has cause to be concerned about his public image. The aggregate numbers at Real Clear Politics show his approval rating at an all-time low of 45.7 percent. The disparity between his approval and disapproval ratings, moreover, is its highest negative ever, at –3.3 percentage points. More voters disapprove than approve of his job performance in 5 of the 7 polls surveyed, and in one of those polls—Reuters/Ipsos—the spread is a tie.
He needs to do something to try to turn around the perception he is overmatched by the responsibilities of the job. Of that, there is no question. There is a very large question, on the other hand, over whether the solution to his image problems is another public appearance. He is arguably the most overexposed president in the history of the nation.
And if he is going to appear in public, how much wisdom is there in making that appearance on The View? Obama is scheduled to join the show's all-female talkfest on Thursday, thereby becoming the first sitting president to appear on a daytime talk show. He was also the first to appear on a late-night talk show, so how much concern can there be over his compromising the dignity of the office?
Enough to generate a negative reaction from Governor Ed Rendell (D-PA), usually a man who rigorously supports the party line, from the president on down. A guest on this morning's Morning Joe, on MSNBC (video follows), Rendell said expressed his doubts, stating,
I think there are some shows . . . I wouldn't put him on 'Jerry Springer' either, right? . . . It is different, a little bit. But look, I think the president of the United States has to go on serious shows. And 'The View' is—you can make a case that 'The View' is a serious show—but also rocks and rolls a little bit. I'm not sure he has to go on 'The View' to be open to questions.
So how bad a miscalculation is it for the president to appear with Whoopi and company? I'm inclined to agree with Laura Ingraham, who as a guest host for Bill O'Reilly last night, opined "not at all." Ingraham's contention is that viewers who tune in to The View are probably not likely to vote in the fall midterms anyway and that if Obama were somehow to present a charming and rousing version of himself (as he is capable of doing), he might actually persuade some of these people to turn out at the polls.