In 1992, the New Republic ran a piece, I believe it was by Jacob Weisberg on then-presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee, reporting something the candidate’s mother (as I recall) had said about her son. If Bill Clinton entered a room with one hundred people, ninety-nine of them loving him, but one opposed to him, he would spend his entire time trying to persuade that one to like him, to appreciate his qualities and recognize his accomplishments.
It seems that one-time Arkansan has something in common with the next Democrat to follow him to the White House. Barack Obama has a similar obsession with his critics, but expresses it much differently than did his Southern predecessor.
Few incoming Presidents have received as fawning press coverage as has the incumbent. Yesterday, for example, while doing my cardio at the gym, I was treated to a Larry King Live segment, with Wolf Blitzer substituting for the eponymous host, on Obama as Comic (or Comedian) in Chief. Had CNN ever run such a segment on any of Obama’s predecessors. Ronald Reagan was a real genius with one-liners, always ready with a stock of quips to bring a smile to most people’s lips.
When CNBC’s John Harwood asked the President whether the “favorable press” he’s been getting was “hurting the country because you’re not sufficiently being held accountable for your policies,” Obama replied
It’s very hard for me to swallow that one. First of all, I’ve got one television station that is entirely devoted to attacking my administration . . . Well, that’s a pretty big megaphone and you’d be hard-pressed if you watched the entire day to find a positive story about me on that front.
Instead of acknowledging the favorable press he has received, the president dwelt on the one news network which probably offers the most balanced coverage of his Adminsitration, featuring critics as well as supporters of his policies and proposals.
Over at Commentary‘s Contentions, Peter Wehner finds the President’s comment “revealing“:
. . . it demonstrates that Obama — who is (literally) compared to God by some journalists, who sends a thrill up the leg of others, and who causes reporters and editors to weep and choke up with emotion in simply thinking about The One — apparently believes he deserves worshipful coverage across the board; when he doesn’t receive it, he views it as a grave injustice.
The President needs to take a page not from the “manual” of his most recent Democratic predecessor but from his most successful Republican predecessor in the century just concluded–learn to take criticism in stride. The Gipper suffered worse slights on a regular basis from the news media than the incumbent suffers from FoxNews and never complained, always maintaining his sunny disposition. If Sam Donaldson berated him overmuch, he smiled and said, “Well, that’s just Sam.” That great man didn’t let criticism get to him.
We all once we receive any degreee of notice or acclaim for our endeavors are bound to receive some sort of criticism. This holds particularly true for those who choose politics as the arena in which to try their talents. The real measure of our quality is how we face that criticism. Even the best of us struggle and stumble in response.
My advice to the President would be to be grateful, most grateful, that he has had an easier time with the media than have most (if not all) of his recent predecessors. He could have better replied to Harwood’s question by saying, “Well, the media do help me get my message out,” and smiled his winning smile. It would have defused a tough question with a bit of humor. Instead of answering the question, he focused on that one news source not so favorably disposed to him.
And that is telling indeed.
UPDATE: (via Michelle Malkin‘s Buzzworthy): George Stephanopolous: “I’ve always been struck by how — and it’s not too strong a word — how obsessed the President and the White House are with Fox News.”
It’s not just Obama who doesn’t like criticism of Obama. The entire political and cultural Left in this country believes that criticism of THE ONE and his policies is a crime. What’s revealing to me is that these are the same people who not only attacked Bush unmercifully for eight years, but also claimed that such “dissent” was the highest form of patriotism. Now they want NO dissent from the policies or the person of their Golden Boy. HYPOCRITES!!!!
Obama should be grateful that not even Fox News chose to dig too deeply into his past. The media may well have greased the rails on our way to oblivion.
If people really understood just what lay behind the statist agenda, there’s no way the Dems could win another election.
Levin spoke from 1982 article:
http://www.heritage.org/research/governmentreform/ia17.cfm
We are literally manufacturing the rope that will be used to hang us.
When does President Obama go from being a run-of-the-mill douche bag into a Royal Douchebag?
What can one say about Obama except that he exhibits behavior of classic narcissistic hostility. Name a neurotic male or female that does not.
For Angel fans, Obama reminds me of Jasmine as she seeks to find any remaining humans who don’t worship her. And the media remind me of her minions.
“That great man didn’t let criticism get to him.”
That’s because Reagan wasn’t an insecure, incompetent douche nozzle in a job that was waaaaayy beyond his capabilities. He had a true belief in the greatness of America. He saw America as the “shining city on a hill”… Obama sees *himself* as the shining savior of a flawed country, he just doesn’t know how to accomplish anything other than his own self-aggrandizement.
“When does President Obama go from being a run-of-the-mill douche bag into a Royal Douchebag?”
long ago if you ask me.
Good point, Jana. Instead of being a petulant youth with no experience doing or accomplishing much, Reagan was a mature fellow with a lifetime of experience in entertainment, business, and government. As governor of California during the 1960s, Reagan was reviled by the radicals in Berkeley and elsewhere. All these experiences gave him the wisdom to know how to put criticism into perspective.
goes back to his Narcissist Personality disorder, Actually just about EVERY trait of this disorder he displays. A few traits that hit on this subject
-Narcissists are extremely sensitive to personal criticism and extremely critical of other people
-Sarcasm seems to be a narcissistic specialty, not to mention spite.
-Requires excessive admiration
-Has a sense of entitlement
-Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
-Demands automatic and full compliance with his or her expectations
I knew there was a good reason I like you so much. Pretty much what I’ve been pointing lately too. Rock on!
“Narcissist Personality”
“insecure”
All of this from an accurate statement he made about Fox, in response to a question?
Projection much?
We’re used to it from you gillie.
not at all gillie. This pretty much covers his entire career but it’s been more pronounced for all to see since the campaign. It gone into overdrive since January