American Idol
NBC says that Barack Obama is the first sitting President to appear on the Tonight Show. Which raises a question: why did all those other Presidents — the show began in 1954, so that makes ten Presidents before Mr. Obama — decline to be guests? Surely some of them must have been asked. The reason is, to be honest, that it's undignified and it degrades the office. What's next? Hollywood Squares? I rather doubt Jay Leno can be of any help politically and if this sort of behavior continues I wonder how long it will take before people develop the habit of cracking unflattering jokes about the former junior Senator from Illinois?
Posted by George Kenney on March 20, 2009 7:28 AM 
« Tossing Timmy and Larry Under the Bus | Main | Money Changers »
Comments
Nixon was on Laugh-In but I don't remember if he was campaigning or in office.
Dignity, though important, has little value these days. Dignity implies a sense of a private and public self.
Bush hid from the public for fairly obvious reasons.
For me the real question is: who watched it? I watch as much television as John McCain uses a computer.
Posted by: loninappleton | March 20, 2009 10:55 AM
Maybe this is part of some sort of campaign to avoid being called an elitist and showing that he identifies with the common folks — the ones who rarely indulge in independent thought. If so, it is as doomed as all the other ploys by Democratic Party "leaders" to deflect the inevitable smears from the right.
Besides, the President has given more publicity to the Special Olympics than to his non-existent plan to fix the financial crisis — which on second thought, is probably not a bad idea.
Posted by: Charles D
|
March 21, 2009 11:43 AM