Following President Obama’s press conference yesterday, news analysts on NPR highlighted the President’s lack of emotion. Talking heads on MSNBC did the same. Why does this trait of Obama’s—his ability to remain calm no matter what—bother the press so much?
In response to one reporter’s question—“When you call your friends . . . and you see the Democratic Party set back, what does it feel like?”—President Obama replied, “It feels bad.”
A reasonable answer, I thought.
But this wasn’t good enough for NPR’s news analysts. It actually made them chuckle. Obama’s supposed lack of emotion translates into a flaw. He doesn’t care, he doesn’t get it—these are the charges against him.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather put my trust in the man who thinks under pressure and remains steadfast in his outlook . . . rather than our blubbering new House Speaker weeping over his weary childhood. We don’t need emotion at the top. We need courage and leadership.
I hope President Obama can summons these traits as a response to the “shellacking” he got yesterday, rather than focus on some misguided need to change his style. And fewer tears from John Boehner would be welcomed as well; he’s got work to do, and it’s time to replace the floors he mopped at his father’s tavern with the jobs Americans need to get back to work.
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