President Barack Obama continues to benefit from a fawning media of which past Presidents could only dream, yet on Sunday's This Week two journalists fretted he's not getting enough credit for his accomplishments, a lack of recognition they blamed on his staff's poor public relations efforts.
Since he's taken office, FBN's Liz Claman asserted, 'almost every sector in the S&P is up double digit percentages' and 'this is also the President under whom we got Osama bin Laden. Those two things are not getting him any gravitas at the moment.' So, she despaired, 'whoever's running PR for him needs to work on that part of it.' (video below)
New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny maintained the White House's public relations shortcomings are 'even breaking through to voters,' citing an Obama supporter in Illinois who 'said he [Obama] must have the worst PR machine in history.' Zeleny recalled how he asked the man what he meant and 'he said look at all of the good things he's done and we haven't heard about it.'
The guy must not watch or read any news.
From the Sunday, August 21
This Week on ABC hosted by Jake Tapper:
LIZ CLAMAN, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK: What does it say that Maxine Waters is the one who is now being critical of the President who was supposed to be the uniter. Last week you saw he united people. He united the Tea Partiers, the far left, and certainly the people in the middle, the centrists, by saying, where is your leadership on jobs? To make people wait for that speech is questionable.
But on the same side, you could say this is the President who, since he has taken over – and a lot of people have looked at 401(k)s and been worried lately – since he's taken over, almost every sector in the S&P is up double digit percentages. Things have recovered. This is also the President under whom we got Osama bin Laden. Those two things are not getting him any gravitas at the moment.
Whoever's running PR for him needs to work on that part of it, and then add to it and say here's what we're going to do. Do the contracts, do the government things that George talked about. Talk about making sure and Donna's ideas, how about getting the permits in the Gulf for drilling natural gas which is clean burning, and we have a lot of it. Why not get those back up to speed. They did a lease sale last week, that's important. But to get the government to start allowing that to happen. Those are real job, Jake.
JEFF ZELENY, NEW YORK TIMES: I mean, I think the PR thing is one thing that's even breaking through to voters. I was talking to a man outside the President's town hall in Atkinson, Illinois. He was pounding in flags a couple hours before the President's visit.
JAKE TAPPER: Oh yeah, the whole road was lined with flags.
ZELENY: It really was, it was this extraordinary site. He voted for Obama and he said he still believes in this President, but he said he must have the worst PR machine in history. So this is from a man pounding in flags in Atkinson, Illinois. I said what do you mean by that? He said look at all of the good things he's done and we haven't heard about it. So I think that is one sort of quiet hope for these people who still feel support of the President, that at the end of the day, when you match his accomplishments with whoever his opponent is going to be that he will come out looking stronger.
- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Brent Baker on Twitter.
