'Punch Drunk' Remark Is Disrespectful Distraction du Jour, Meant To Slow Down Obama

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Christine Bowman

BuzzFlash thinks Steve Croft wrongly "dissed" the President of the United States Sunday when he asked him on "60 Minutes," "Are you punch drunk?" Did any mainstream, corporate-paid, "serious" journalist ever ask President Bush that kind of insolent question? Not that we ever heard of.

Only rarely did any journalist even come back at Bush with a challenging follow-up question, and only the bravest comic in the land dared to insult the grudge-holding, loyalty-obsessed George W. Bush to his face.

We are willing to concede that President Obama has adopted a more casual style than that of his predecessor. By executing a charm offensive on the network interview and talk shows, he opened himself up to some unguarded, unscripted back and forth banter. But "punch drunk"? Does that imply that the President's brain has been adversely affected by all the hits he's taken? Or that he's simply acting drunk? Did Steve Croft mean to suggest that the President of the United States was out of it?

The conservative web sites are going to town with "punch drunk." It's the perfect sound bite to go with their talking points that the President is either overly ambitious, or overstretched, or overreaching, or not serious about buckling down to the work at hand ... all contradictory talking points, we should point out. Their other favorite talking point had been that he was too serious in his demeanor and was scaring the public about the economic realities facing the nation. Yeah, right. The President offers too much doom and gloom, and now he's laughing too much about it, too.

This too will pass. The White House communications team surely has already conferred about the question of just how much presidential smiling is okay, and just how much ominousiness. (That's another nod from us to Stephen Colbert.) By the way, David Hinckley at the New York Daily News described President Obama's visible good cheer as "laughs of reassurance." Truly, that's a change to welcome after all the years of Bush/Cheney fear-mongering that the public endured.

The President is renowned for running on an even keel. That means he can dip a little towards cheeriness, then a little the other way towards gloominess, yet he remains on a reality-based tack true to his goals. That's basically what President Obama does every time he talks publically, if you listen to the full talk and the context he always provides.

Too bad that the sound bite is so much easier to ingest and regurgitate. "The President is punch drunk."

By the way, any pugilistic opponent who believes that line will be in for some nasty surprises. The President is not done fighting for his budget and for his country's recovery.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

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