Ari Melber & Eleanor Clift on MSNBC
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22827.html
Barack Obama's reality-show presidency
We are now living through the first reality-show presidency.
The trends began in the early 1990s, with 24-hour cable news and reality programming, and intensified in the past few years, with the rise of celebrity culture and micro-broadcasting technology.
This is the first administration, however, to fuse iterative, real-time lifestyle coverage with the star power of a true celebrity politician. The White House is deftly serving the huge public and media interest in President Barack Obama, not only as a leader and celebrity but also as a character in a fascinating story far beyond politics.
So far, it is working.
Historically, the most favorably viewed figure in any administration is the first lady, regardless of her husbands popularity. That is largely because first ladies avoid the political fray and are ritualistically presented as a warm, human presence in the White House. Take Laura Bush. She left the White House with a 67 percent favorable rating, according to a January CNN poll, more than double the ratings of her husband and his top officials.
So far, Obama is garnering the kind of coverage more traditionally associated with first ladies, partly because he is covered not only as a president immersed in policy but also as the star of an exciting reality show.
Sometimes the press takes the lead on the set.
This week, for example, while many wonks debated Obamas health care objectives, the media had other goals in mind. Its the Weekend, So Obama Becomes a Soccer Dad, blared an AP headline, detailing Obamas cameo as soccer fan at his daughters games. At one point, after [his daughters] team scored, the president shouted excitedly, Go ... go ... go ... goal, the article recounted. Television news programs also picked up the scene, playing loops of Obama, clad in a White Sox jacket, cheering on the sidelines.
Before soccer weekends, the press salivated over plot twists like the new vegetable garden at 1600 Pennsylvania and the arrival of Bo, the first familys puppy. Those lifestyle stories drew tons of attention. Bo netted over 3,200 hits on Google News in a single week, besting coverage for several members of Obamas Cabinet (including Tom Vilsack, Hilda Solis, Gary Locke and Ray LaHood). The Washington Post even sought an exclusive scoop on the puppy, though the paparazzi site TMZ.com got there first.
And the first familys vegetable garden was one of the biggest Obama-related stories of the week in March, according to Pews Project for Excellence in Journalism, which measures topics in the national newshole.
Then, from the other direction, White House aides provide a steady stream of apolitical scenes from Obamas life to the press and the public.
As the Los Angeles Times reported last month, both Obama staffers and celebrity news executives agree that celebrity-driven media coverage has reached a new level at the White House. To generate personality-driven coverage, the article explained, White House press aides now give coveted access to celebrity outlets like E! and Us Weekly. (Imagine the photo spread: They balance a budget, just like us!)
Beyond the media filter, the White House website has more reality-style scenes than ever before. Sports fans can find Obamas handwritten NCAA bracket picks, along with over 400 pictures of the presidents daily routine on the official Flickr page. And the White House recently shifted those snapshots copyright status to public domain, to its credit, so anyone can download and use them.
This show would not be effective, of course, without a good subject. Obama won the presidency by running the first integrated three-screen campaign — reaching people directly via Internet, cell phones and TV — with an authentic, complex style that resonated for voters sick of dark, deceitful and divisive politics.
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