And He's Still Fooling the Media

Jon Friedman at CBS still doesn't get it about Obama's media approach.

Excerpts from his:

How Obama Can Win Over The Media
MarketWatch Media Columnist Explains What Obama Must Do To Become America's "Communicator-In-Chief"

..."There has to be a new era of transparency," Stengel [Rick Stengel, the managing editor of Time magazine] told me, raising his voice to be heard over the din. I asked Stengel what the next president's priority should be.

"Communicator-in-Chief," Stengel said animatedly. "That's his main job."

Speaking for the media, who have been frustrated by outgoing President George W. Bush's infrequent public pronouncements over his eight years, Stengel urged Obama to be a constant presence in our lives.

"The more press conferences, the better," Stengel said, suggesting one a week.
I met Obama in October 2006 in Phoenix at a magazine conference. This was before he formally declared himself a candidate for the White House.

[In Phoenix 2006] Obama clearly enjoyed meeting people and making small talk. But I thought I got a glimpse of a slightly churlish Obama, too, when I asked him, rather bluntly, if he was worried about peaking in popularity with the media any time soon.

He cocked his head and took in my question, looking displeased at being buttonholed in such a friendly setting. "No," he declared, throwing cold water on my theory. He then explained that he was confident he could continue to do well.

Obama showed himself to be a guarded, private man on the campaign trail. Befitting his Harvard Law School pedigree, he chooses his words very carefully. He seemed to agonize when he had to speak off the cuff during his debates with his opponent on the campaign trail, Sen. John McCain, and wasn't at his best when he had to wing it.

I'd advise our new president to loosen up a bit when he deals with the media from this point on. The easiest way to get potential antagonists on your side is to smile and make light jokes. But Obama sometimes acts uneasily,

Everyone in the media will be watching Obama, waiting for him to trip up and look bad. [really?] It's nothing personal against him. But as I have written in this space before, the media love nothing more than to build you up, and then knock you down. This phenomenon takes place in every strata of life, from politics and business to sports and entertainment.

As Bush knows from his own experience, Obama won't always have the media in the palm of his hand. He should take advantage of every opportunity.

Remarkable, amazingly remarkable.

And this fellow claims to have covered Obama for over two years?