Obama's narcissism unbound: 5 Sunday talk show appearances
It appears that on Sunday morning, you will be unable to get away from Barack Obama if you watch the political shows.
The president will be on 5 - count 'em - 5 different talk shows to push his agenda.
Politico's Eamon Javers:
There is risk associated with this," acknowledged White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "But it is also a unique opportunity to reach a pretty diverse audience."In the eyes of political pros, it's also an opportunity for Obama to get dangerously overexposed. You've heard of "jumping the shark." This might be "jumping the Ginsburg." And on Monday, he'll do another show, becoming the first sitting president to appear on the David Letterman show.
"More isn't always more when it comes to a president's words," said former Clinton White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers. "This is something they need to start to be concerned about."
Obama, Myers said, believes that if he has enough time, he can convince anyone of his position on health care reform. "But there's a limit to that," she said. "You cannot convince everyone, even when your argument is indisputably airtight and true. You can't convince people who believe in death panels that there aren't any death panels."
The overexposure theme is bipartisan. Former George W. Bush Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said Obama is spreading himself too thin. "This is a mistake they can, and should avoid," Fleischer said. "In the White House, you start to look at your boss through such rose colored glasses that you lose your ability to make objective decisions."
I think any normal person would get sick of watching themselves if they appeared 5 times on national TV in a few hours. And since most people watch at least 2 or 3 of those shows, it is a good bet that there will be a lot of channel surfing going on.
Exit question: What's worse? Obama thinking people actually want to see him this much or the press thinking people will actually be interested in seeing the president more than once?