Posted on 07/27/2010 7:50:05 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
President Obama is making history by participating in a daytime talk show. But why "The View"? And why now?
Though no sitting president has ever appeared on a daytime talk show, when Barack Obama tapes "The View" on Wednesday, it will actually be his second visit with Barbara Walters & Co. The last time "The View" ladies welcomed him, during his 2008 presidential campaign, their questions weren't entirely soft-ball. So why is Obama returning now? And is it a good idea? Here are five takes: (Watch Whoopi Goldberg's announcement)
1. The president is doing PR repair after the Shirley Sherrod debacle Obama's decision to do "The View," says David Zurawik in The Baltimore Sun, is a "direct response" to the criticism over "his administration's harsh and abrupt firing of USDA worker [Sherrod]." His mea culpas will be aimed at the "many female viewers of 'The View' who might have been particularly offended" by the firing, and it fits the prototypical Obama pattern: "When the going gets tough, the president goes on TV."
2. It's an inevitable step — why did it take so long? Almost 20 years after populist genius Bill Clinton's seminal saxophone moment on The Arsenio Hall Show, says Jason Cochran in WalletPop, Obama's stop by "The View" shows that our politicians are finally seeing "value in communicating with us where we actually live, in between the ads for groceries and diapers." The real question is: Why haven't other presidents tapped this demographic?
3. Obama knows "The View" audience will give him a no-brainer boost Obama would reach a bigger audience on the "Late Show with David Letterman," says Jessica Grose in Slate's XX Factor, but given his "pretty dismal" approval ratings, "Obama is looking for an easy boost, and he knows he'll get it from Barbara and Co." He's likely noted how "gentle" they were with Vice President Joe Biden in April.
4. Older women vote The specific demographic goldmine here is the show's "huge audience of middle-aged, working class women," says Amy Chozick in The Wall Street Journal. These women (median age: 59) "rarely watch the Sunday news shows," but they "vote in midterm elections in much larger numbers than their male counterparts."
5. It's the economy, stupid It's important to remember that "The View" audience isn't just female, says Dan Amira in New York Magazine. With the midterm elections fast approaching, and the economy "still struggling," Obama could really "use some face time" with both "penny-pinching suburban housewives and channel-flipping unemployed people" of both sexes.
Funny, I thought Barney Frank was giving him that.
Obama hides behind women because in the company of real men, he can't cut the mustard. And he knows it.
You got it!
Still, there’s something demeaning to the office for Obama to appear on The View.
Its a gay thing ....you wouldnt understand
I think picking the View is more about the aggrandizement he will have foisted upon him by these shallow women and less about reconstructing his "message".
If we eliminate females and gay males, how much of the audience is left?
WTF...
He needs to reconnect with his brain dead base....
uh, gay?
Simple. Socialism appeals to many, many women—especially single ones. To many of them, the Government is the stable husband they don’t (and never will) have.
It's confirmed. Obama is America's first female President.
4. Those 59 y/o working class women are the Tea Party.
3. Obama knows "The View" audience will give him a no-brainer boost
No.
The kid is not my son.
MJ
No doubt O-Faglet is a queer. I am so ashamed this man represents this great nation of strong people.
He is losing his stupid audience. No better way to shore it up than go on a stupid show.
Cocky rooster just showing off fcr the old hens.
Obama’s at it again.. Charm the ladies, get them all “tingly” and they’ll do whatever he wants them to. “The View’s” audience are sheep who feed on emotion and that’s the only kind of fan Obama has left. Yes, poor Obama’s tried so hard to get us out of the ditch Bush put us in (/sarcasm), blah blah blah.. Cry, ladies, cry.. Support Obama and those poor, poor Democrats.. Frickin’ PATHETIC. Maybe someone on the panel can discuss the Mosque being built at ground zero and surprise and shock the audience because you can bet they aren’t even aware of it. Bah-bah-bah-bah-bah...
“OBama is threatened by men. He feels safe and flattered by a gaggle of females. Be honest—when has he ever been face to face with a strong male presence that he didn’t get all femmy and waspish and snarky and pull rank like a chicken junior officer?
Obama hides behind women because in the company of real men, he can’t cut the mustard. And he knows it.”
Probably because his dad abandoned him and he was raised by his grandmother and mom. Never had a good father figure, so he doesn’t know how to interact with men.
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