The View From Here . . .

No one can accuse President Obama of avoiding the public spotlight lately as he pushes for health care reform. After delivering a speech before a joint session of Congress and appearing on 60 Minutes, Mr. Obama got himself interviewed on five different news shows on Sunday morning (Fox News was pointedly excluded) and this week is appearing on Dave Letterman. Mr. Obama also has appeared on promotions for the new George Lopez show and even made some news with his comments concerning rap star Kanye West’s actions at the MTV Music awards.

Some people are wondering (facetiously) if Mr. Obama will soon be featured on Bowling for Dollars. As of mid-August, according to the New York Post , Mr. Obama had 66 television interviews. The corresponding number for George W. Bush at the same time in his presidency was 16 and for Bill Clinton, six.

The obvious issue is whether Mr. Obama will add to his standing with the public and improve the chances of passing his legislation or, on the contrary, will merely become overexposed.

As the Obama White House points out, the media is considerably different in the Obama presidency than it was in previous administrations. We are long past the age where most people got their broadcast news from the three networks as there has been a proliferation of cable and other news channels, as well as the rise of the internet. Accordingly, any one appearance by the President is much less likely to be watched by the public than in previous days. On the other hand, there is obviously some point where the constant presence of Mr. Obama becomes too much.

The results of all this publicity is unclear. The president has inched up in his average approval rating as shown on the Real Clear Politics survey (in effect a poll of polls), although he is pretty much flat among likely voters in the Rasmussen daily tracking poll. Obviously, a key goal of the Administration is to avoid a sharp dip in popularity, especially in marginal House districts whose members are under pressure from vigorous conservative opposition, at a time when Mr. Obama’s signature health care legislation is pending. The President does seem to have achieved that minimal goal, at least for the present.

An interesting perspective on this comes from Howard Kurtz, media writer for the Washington Post . In a piece entitled “On the Air, But Off His Game,” Mr. Kurtz chronicles Mr. Obama’s many media forays lately and notes that Mr. Obama has complained about the 24-hour news cycle and the tendency to cover conflict, which he labels “catnip” for the media. “The easiest way to get on CNN is, or Fox or any of the other stations, MSNBC, is to just say something rude and outrageous.”

But in Mr. Kurtz’s view, “that’s a bit of an overstatement—the nightly newscasts, for instance, don’t regularly feature screamers — but in this “You lie!” age, Obama has a point. It’s equally true that the president has become an eager player in this nonstop news cycle. And the more he waltzes onto every show this side of “Dancing With the Stars,” the more he risks being seen as just another programming element, his words quickly fading into the electronic ether.”

It hasn’t happened yet, but it could.