Obamathon: Is the President Overexposed?

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Thus Kroft's bizarrely meta question: "Are people going to look at this and say, 'I mean, he's sitting there just making jokes about money'?" — asking the President to analyze the public's reaction to his tone in an interview he was in the middle of. And thus the hyperventilating over Obama's Leno sit-down, coverage of which focused not on substance but on Obama's comparing his bowling skills to the "Special Olympics." Here's another thing F.D.R. didn't have to deal with: a public jaded by superficial, 24/7 political spin.

There are definitely dangers to media blitzes, as Obama's TV week proved. Too many just-for-fun bits, like his ESPN bracket pick, could make him look as if he has his eye on the wrong ball. (Which may be why he said he didn't stay up to watch a six-overtime game because "I've got work to do.") Every time he forces himself to say, "I'm as angry as anybody about those bonuses," it sounds clearer that he's not as angry as anybody. And he may actually do better in tough Q&As, like his press conferences, than in soft ones like Leno's. He gaffes more when he feels he's on friendly turf. (See his flub about "bitter" small-town Americans at a fundraiser in the primaries.)

But whether Obama persuades or fails, Americans are listening to more than the faux-controversial snippets blared out on the Drudge Report. They're absorbing the serious arguments, weighing the options, taking the measure of a President who came across as confident, wry and eager to engage. (And who, yes, sometimes says dumb things and apologizes for them.)

Listening to F.D.R.'s fireside chats today, it is still amazing how well he was able to personally connect, reassure and educate. But what F.D.R. was able to do in one broadcast today takes a raft of appearances that create a composite impression: gravitas from a press conference and 60 Minutes, living-room intimacy from Leno, regular-guy connection from ESPN.

So WWFDRD today? Probably something different from what F.D.R. did then. He might even overexpose himself.

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