June has been a slow month for my blog. There is not much out there which has provoked me of late. The death of Michael Jackson has completely taken over the air waves, even though there is never anything new to report. The media, which was totally consumed by Iran for a few days, has now found a new bone to chew on. It's all quite boring.
So I thought it might be timely to go back over a couple of my earlier postings and topics and bring them up to date.
I'll start with my favourite topic - President Obama. I have written quite a lot about him. On March 22, for example, I complained about his need to always be in our faces - perhaps a professor's never ending obsession with publicity (hence my blog??). This provoked a lot of angry comments, although I suspect most of them came from one commentator under a series of juvenile, made up names. Well, the President has not lost his interest in controlling the media and the messages. He even jokes about the reporters being in bed with him, openly mocking the journalists, who apparently have no clue about their roles as members of the fourth estate. The President has now decided that the fawning media is not fawning enough, so he has taken to planting a reporter in his press conference, so that he can be asked the appropriate question. This has not gone over well with the mainstream media suitors, whose own affections have been spurned. Even the Obamaniac, Bill Maher, has been critical of Obama's need for constant attention. Then there is the ethics concern over the appointment of Tom Brokaw to the President's Commission On White House Fellowships coming shortly after he participated in what has been describes as an "in the tank" interview with President Obama.
In my posting of February 18, I commented on the fact that there was a disconnect between Obama's personal popularity and approval for his policies. I wondered how long the disconnect between Obama the personality and Obama the policy maker would go on. Well it appears that this disconnect still continues; although Obama's personal approval rating is beginning to fall.
In my posting of May 6, I wished Poor Arlen Specter good luck with his new found faith in the Democratic Party. Well, it looks like he is going to need it. Poll results show that only 28% of registered voters in Pennsylvania think Specter should be re-elected. It looks like the issue of his seniority might become moot.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Professor Klar,
ReplyDeleteI've always been very surprised by your strident defence of Sarah Palin. What do you think about her resignation? I am a big fan of her statement.
I'm not sure how you can read that thing and think, "Presidential Material!" It is deeply and wonderfully bad ("*((Gotta Put First Things First))*"). I am overwhelmed with Schadenfreude. Some of the speech seems genuinely delusional, like her continued insistence that she has completed her first term , despite being only half-way through it. Much of the speech is also extremely paranoid. Almost every paragraph makes a ridiculous assertion, then says, "Some will questions this [ridiculous assertion], but they are [socialists/comedians/un-American]."
As for the President, I agree with some of your points. But I don't exactly blame him for courting publicity; I blame a fawning and ridiculous media. Talking about it, though--even on blogs-- is itself publicity, oxygen for the meaningless coverage. If you don't like all these process stories, stick to the issues. Like his bank-kowtowing, weak-kneed financial reforms; his willingness to even talk about not including a public option in health reform; his continuation of most-to-all Bush era national security policies; his lack of balls on climate change, &c &c. The list goes on. With so much to be angry about, his celebrity status shouldn't be a hot topic.
I hope you had a good Canada Day. The only plant in my office has died.
Scott