President Obama hogs national conversation to stay on top

President Obama fought back the contentious discord on the healthcare debate seriously undermining his 10-month old administration by turning the national conversation on himself unabashedly. Blanketing the air waves vying for a favourable showing at home seemed a prelude to enhancing international reputation, especially with the UN General Assembly and the G-20 Summit being scheduled for September, where fiery repertoire of staged managed policy discourses are imminent as Iran's Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Libya's Muammar Gadhafi, North Korea's Kim Jung-ll and many others occupy the centre stage. His planned "charm offensive" seemed well-timed.

Locally, Obama was banking on people's fascination with his style of politics, stage-crafting his moves by being intimately attuned to everyday things. When Barack and Michelle Obama went out on a date, You Tube was there in a flash depicting the first couple in glowingly romantic terms. Not since the Kennedy's has the presidency got that glamorous and close.

Barack and Michelle Obama seemed comfortable with the intimacy of the media glare.

Their date was reported in exquisite detail up to the exotic cocktail preferences, and the promenade afterwards that was gulped up by millions of viewers-the highest romantically profiled couple for decades.

O word replaces N word

Obama seeking support for his healthcare program. AFP

The first US Black President is now identified more with the O word-overexposed and less with the derisive N word according to some analysts. Last week Obama sat down with the major TV channels: ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and Univision, and hit the "Late Show with David Letterman" in one swoop. The coverage was overwhelming. Obama had been everywhere except on the Food network said a cynic.

As communicators Barack and Michelle are projecting an image of being a doting husband and caring father married to a busy wife and mother putting their children first while immersed in community work, a far cry from the Harvard legal eagles and the erstwhile community organizers from the streets of Chicago. They are often talked of as "The Huxtables" of the hit TV series by celebrity Black comedian Bill Cosby, obviously, a reference to the more quixotic Clintonesque portrait of yesteryear.

Under the microscope

The flip side to all this is that being under the microscope relentlessly takes a toll. He could be accused of cheapening the presidency by his resorting to communications surfeit. Others countered stating that to be publicly dissected and become the topic of national debate is what politics is all about. President Truman once said if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

Media is dying to get their hands on what is obviously an apex news maker, understandably, the plum catch for their ratings game. For Obama there is no substitute for being available to give your best shot when asked. Everyone knows that not since Bill Clinton has there been a president who is on message than Barack Obama. To sell yourself short and ration your interviews would be detrimental no matter which way you look at it. President Truman also said the presidency is a tiger that must be ridden less one be eaten.

Media's penetrating eye

The Obama mystique surrounding the media savvy stance hinges on his ability to win skeptics. He also faced head-on media's relentless probing as a Chicago Senator in 2004, then only a rookie. He never backed out of a situation when confrontation would probably have frightened anyone else. He joked then "I'm so overexposed, I'm making Paris Hilton look like a recluse." He believes that traction is a direct outcome of being in the middle of the media gaze. You can bet all you have that Barack Obama would not dodge the bullet. He likes the drama and those listening in turn enjoy the high theatre all the time.

"The idea of overexposure is based on an old-world view of the media," said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House's Deputy Communications Director. In other words, you'd have to be on TV a lot. That is exactly what Obama is doing. He is not only message-driven but also message-inducing. His listeners at meetings go home talking about what they heard. He won the presidential campaign by sticking to his message of change. It is happening now. No other president in recent memory would pull off a thing like what Obama is doing.

There is a risk to all this. But handling is the key word. Obama can avoid repetitious chatter because he does not throw a stock ready-made answer at you. Every question gets a decent hearing and nuanced answer. That is vintage Obama.

Obama summed up the daunting task of getting health care approved when speaking to the media "I've tried to keep it digestible, you know, it's very hard for people to get their - their whole arms around it. And that's been a case where I have been humbled and I just keep on trying harder, because I, I really think it's the right thing to do for the country."