Our Incredible Vanishing President

by Emily Steinberg

Where is President Obama? He's been MIA for a while now and it's getting me nervous. The President is an incredibly smart and decent man. He's working hard for Americans, trying to turn the ship of state around after the car wreck that was the Bush administration. But it takes time to turn things around, and Americans just don't have time for that. They can't even remember who got us into this mess in the first place. Trying to connect with the American voting public is like connecting with a toddler, our attention span is just long enough for a 20 second commercial and then we change the channel.

The reality is Obama has passed more successful legislation than any President since the Johnson administration. He has passed Healthcare reform, the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and Finance reform to name just the three largest. And yet, for some reason, he hasn't been able to communicate this message to the country. The failure to communicate is due to the combined efforts of both the President and his staff, most of whom have been consistently tone-deaf to the need for strong visuals in the realm of political theater.

I don't know whose idea it was to redecorate the Oval Office in the middle of the recession, but it wasn't a good one. And sending Michelle on a Jackie O. trip to Spain last summer, even though it was privately paid for, was red meat for the GOP talking heads who didn't hesitate to use it as such. Meanwhile, Obama seems oddly disengaged and compliant in the hands of the newly victorious Republicans. Has someone replaced the President with a look-a-like robot?

Effective governing is policy plus presentation. Obama should spend some time in the White House movie theater, take in some old footage of President Clinton, heck, even check out The Gipper and learn from the pros how to incorporate humor, fun and humanity into his act. The President needs to put some juice into his performance or there won't be a re-election in 2012. President Obama, It's Time to Stand up and Man up to the Republicans.

Read Frank Rich's excellent article in yesterday's New York Times Week in Review All the President's Captors.