CNN's on-staff political analysts and reporters -- not just the left-wing political operatives (Paul Begala and Donna Brazile) were in awe of President Barack Obama's press conference performance. Just after it ended Wednesday night, senior political analyst David Gergen hailed how “in terms of mastery of the issues, we have rarely had a President who is as well briefed and speaks in as articulate a way as this President does.” Gergen enthused: “He's nuanced. He's very complete. He's up to speed on the issues” and “he's taken it to a whole different level in the way he speaks about issues.” So, “I thought he was an A in terms of material, but given” Obama's inaccurate assurance he's opposed to bigger government, “I gave him an A-minus.”
Former CBS News reporter Gloria Borger, now also a senior political analyst for CNN, endorsed Gergen's grade, “I'm totally with him on that,” before recalling how Obama “reminded the American people that he's accomplished a lot, but he has a lot still left to do” and, she reverentially asserted: “That's because he has so much more that he's got to do than Presidents in recent memory.”
Up next, Roland Martin, the fill-in for Campbell Brown as anchor of CNN's 8 PM EDT hour, awarded Obama an A and then Washington correspondent Jessica Yellin declared Obama “is tackling so many issues at once and in such a capable way that it leaves the Republicans unable to target any one issue.”
From CNN's National Report Card: The First 100 Days, just past 9 PM EDT on Wednesday night, April 29:
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Let me just say, I thought that in terms of mastery of the issues, we have rarely had a President who is as well briefed and speaks in as articulate a way as this President does. He's nuanced. He's very complete. He's up to speed on the issues. The briefings in the White House, the readings he's been done -- have clearly helped to educate him in ways. He's taken it to a whole different level in the way he speaks about issues.That said, on one issue, I thought he was -- I thought he was a little disingenuous. And that is about growing government. You can't look at what his plans are on health care and look at his plans on energy and say he really doesn't want to extend the influence and grow government. I just think -- so on that basis, I thought he was an A in terms of material, but given that issue, I gave him an A-minus.
GLORIA BORGER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm with him. I'm totally with him on that. I thought it was a pretty lively news conference, so far as these things go. The interesting thing to me, though, was he said it twice. He said, you know, I would have liked a leaner portfolio. I would have liked to have come in like every normal president and just have two or three things to deal with, except now, that's not the hand I was dealt.
He reminded the American people that he's accomplished a lot, but he has a lot still left to do. And that's because he has so much more that he's got to do than Presidents in recent memory.
.....
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that what he's done tonight is shown that the Republicans have an enormous challenge going forward, because this man is tackling so many issues at once and in such a capable way that it leaves the Republicans unable to target any one issue. If he were just going after health care, they could hit him on that. If it were just the economy. But look at what he's doing. And it makes it such a dispersed field, they really don't have a target and they're really struggling.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Up to speed on the issues
April 30, 2009 - 02:49 ET by KC MulvilleDavid Gergen ... is impressed ... that the president ... is "up to speed" ... on the issues ...
Well now there's a lowering of expectations, isn't it?
Impressive?
April 30, 2009 - 07:09 ET by allanfI would call it a religious experience for Gergen, but he just says what the people paying his salary expect.
Here are some of Obama's accomplishments:
Here are some more...100
April 30, 2009 - 18:05 ET by bigtimerHere are some more...100 days of them.
This is from the conservatives in the Senate...please look this site over and join in, comment on their blog posts...they need more like us to let them know we appreciate them and what they are doing...I haven't got to yet, but I hope by Monday I will be able too...thank you DeMint and other patriots.
Pass the link around to other conservatives you know.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
I gave Obama a B
April 30, 2009 - 13:22 ET by Jen7He had some hiccups with some of his nominees and taxes and the latest flying over new york mishap. But, other then that, he's done fine in my book.
As you may presently yourself be fully made aware of, my grammar sucks.
Family Guy
Please, Jen, enlighten
April 30, 2009 - 17:48 ET by fitzfongPlease, Jen, enlighten me. What concrete thing has this President done that would earn him such a high mark in your book? Was it using 9000 gallons of jet fuel to lecture us about not using so much fuel? Was it his pathetic apology tour of Europe when the various Heads of State barely contained their contemptuous amusement over what an intellectual and policy lightweight he is? Maybe it was his constant preemption of prime time television to deliver another nauseating softball press conference (as if the networks can really afford the loss in ad revenue these days)? Perhaps it's the constant partying during a deep recession...why have an ordinary pizza when you can fly in a chef from St. Louis to make one for you (at taxpayer expense)? Short of appointing a horse to the Senate, this guy is the modern day Caligula.
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." -Winston Churchill
no no no fitz
April 30, 2009 - 18:11 ET by botgit's that obama has been able to do in 100 days what no other man has ever done, he has taken the most prosperous nation the world has ever seen and bankrupted it
"Outside of a dog a book is man's best friend,------------inside a dog it's too dark to read" ---Groucho
CNN = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
April 30, 2009 - 04:31 ET by mostlymoderateCNN = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
So let me get this right...
April 30, 2009 - 05:57 ET by NavyBuckeyeAs long as he is up to date and well spoken it doesn't matter that he handles things crappily...hmmm.
Just a few months ago we had a President who didnt speak as well but handled matters a lot better in most cases...but was lambasted...
So now to be a good President you only need to:
- Kiss 3rd world dictators butts
- Talk trash about a news channel and those citizens who disagree with you
- Scare the crap out of New Yorkers then deny any partaking in the situation while blaming someone else
- Take credit for the Navy Seals actions (the oppisite of the above) when you had really nothing to do with the actions taken
- Run up a debt in the first 100 days greater than any president in the last 16 years.
- Release sensitive national security information to our enemies.
- Be hip with "swagga" but not the cowboy type
- force news channels to broadcast your teleprompter's thinkings
- publish a report that labels Military Vets (such as myself) as terrorists, all the while renaming the real terrorists to something fuzzy.
- rename terrorists acts to "man made disasters"
- give an industry to the very union that was destroying it in the first place
Hmmm...now I understand.......
Well I guess the next thing for BO to do is start rounding up the dissenters and placing them in camps. Then he can start burning any literature that preaches the opposite of what he wants people to believe and understand....it is very eery how our country is shaping up to be just like Germany in the early 1930's. The one difference BO didnt just get out of jail and start leading his party.
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter” - Thomas Jefferson
And NavyBuck ...
April 30, 2009 - 11:53 ET by SentryDanAnd NavyBuck, you know what is even scarier that having this country start to shape-up like Germany did in the 30s? It is that there would be NO country in the world who would be able to win back our freedoms. The world would fall into total chaos while countries would fight with each other to see who would control the world.
The United States is the only country in the world that prevents world chaos, the likes of which we haven't seen since World War II.
Remember folks, Freedom isn't Free. It was bought with the blood and sacrifice of the men and women who are serving and who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.
For those who fought for it, Freedom has a flavor that the protected will never know.
Also remember folks, that the way to SUPPORT THE TROOPS is to support their mission. Anyone who says that they support the troops but don't support their mission is lying about supporting the troops. And if you want to know, yes I do have a dog in the fight, he is a United States Marine.
Hey, look at the lower
April 30, 2009 - 06:02 ET by gopsteveHey, look at the lower screen, the msm finally label politicians who are (D)!!!!
Don't get all excited
April 30, 2009 - 06:13 ET by motherbeltIt's their usual template.
They just did it to point out that Pennsylvania now has two Democrat senators.
You know, like a "Hey....look at this!!"
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
Borger was half-right when she said
April 30, 2009 - 06:11 ET by ekslib"[Obama] has so much more that he's got to do than Presidents in recent memory.”
I would phrase it differently...
"Obama has his fingers in too many pies."
He can (and must) decide to concentrate on what is most important at this time.
Right. CEO-bama wouldn't
April 30, 2009 - 06:16 ET by motherbeltRight. CEO-bama wouldn't be nearly so frazzled if he didn't decide to run the banks and auto companies on top of everything else. And then they have the nerve to call the Somali pirates situation a distraction.
Sheesh.
They might say "Wow, that sucks!" But at least they'll say "Wow!" -Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes
Creating work for himself
April 30, 2009 - 07:11 ET by GalvanicNow that he's injected the Federal government into the operations and investments of failed businesses, he has created more work for himself and the government than was necessary.
While absurdly claiming that he's against Big Government, every action he's initiatiated has made government bigger, and not just for the short term.
And generations of Americans will pay for it.
As proud as parrents
April 30, 2009 - 06:55 ET by xcor057The media gush over this guy the same way parrents do over a todler just getting off the toilet.
Oh Berry, you did such a good job!
I wonder if they have a teleprompter in the 2nd floor White House bathroom instead of a newspaper.
Maybe it's just me......
April 30, 2009 - 08:02 ET by TheBigBBut in my little circle of life, the people who were so excited about Obama before the election are becoming much less so, and the people who "held their nose" and voted for him are starting to really regret their choice.
There are still some Kool-Aid drinkers, though. I was introduced to a new co-worker the other day (a recent college grad), and had a chance to talk to her alone while our boss dealt with some other matters. We talked about education, and I told her about a new version of the GI bill that I might be eligible for. Her first words were "Yes, between that and the tax cuts, Obama's doing a wonderful job, isn't he?" I spent the next 3 or 4 minutes informing her differently. Before she could stutter a response, our boss came back. Hopefully, the message sunk in.
Honestly, though, I'm starting to think that Obama's in the process of handing the Congress back to the Republicans in 2010. I only hope we're capable of taking it back.
Power is the peoples' to give, but it is also theirs to exercise.
More Lies
April 30, 2009 - 08:09 ET by slickwillie2001Gergen: "So, I thought he was an A in terms of material, but given Obama's
inaccurate assurance he's opposed to bigger government, I gave him an
A-minus.”
That's such a nice way to say that the Doofus lied to us again.
David Gergen
April 30, 2009 - 11:26 ET by rpeeler42I think Gergen has some good points, like his work at the JFK School of Govenment at Harvard, however, he seldom, if ever, says anything on the political shows that is critical or hard hitting. I almost think he thinks he might get another job in the White Housse. Brown nosing will get you far in D.C..
David Gergen
April 30, 2009 - 11:26 ET by rpeeler42I think Gergen has some good points, like his work at the JFK School of Govenment at Harvard, however, he seldom, if ever, says anything on the political shows that is critical or hard hitting. I almost think he thinks he might get another job in the White Housse. Brown nosing will get you far in D.C..
The President and the Press
April 30, 2009 - 08:10 ET by BourbeauGee, I didn't hear anyone there ask The One if he had made any mistakes during his first 100 days? I guess that's only for Republicans. And I'm curious as to his historical accuracy. He suggested that Winston Churchill, during WWII and the bombing of Britain, disavowed torture. Really? So, according to The One, no one in the British Army or M15, every tortured anyone, since the time time of Winston Chuchill. More specifically, the Brits never tortured anyone during the Belfast uprsising; everyone kind of treated whoever they captured in the north as gentle captives. Hmmmm, I can't wait to hear that discussed with some of our WWII historians.
Re British Torture
April 30, 2009 - 08:47 ET by slickwillie2001Already looked into by the only investigative journalists left, on the blogs:
President Obama's 100 Daze Press Conference: http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com
Many other links out there. Brits were also pretty rough with captured IRA terrorists.
A's for everyone
April 30, 2009 - 08:17 ET by MES41067Everyone gets an A how nice.
**Wed Night Press Conf
April 30, 2009 - 08:41 ET by pelicanmarshCould the NYT "reporter" have actually thrown a softer question? It was like he was tossing a freshly laid chicken egg to Obama, underhanded and with the utmost tenderness.
And the comedic interplay between him and Obama was one for the newsreels. "He's such a down-to-Earth funny guy that Obama! Isn't he grand?"
What would have been fantabulous- as I'm sure we have all thought about what we would have asked the President- is someone to stand up and ask, "How the hell are we going to pay for your reckless spending and irresponsible fiscal endeavors? You're like a crack addict on payday, Mr. President. Maybe the government could save money by working for free for the next four years, because as I see it, not a damn one of ya is worth what you're getting paid."
But, you know of course, that the media is not biased, and any accusation of said media bias is unwarranted and unfounded.
Right On Pelicanmarsh-
April 30, 2009 - 09:12 ET by Reaganite RepublicanCurrent polling data trumpeted by the left is almost completely irrelevant- a lot of people still don't have any clue what Obama's doing to the country, with his naive diplomacy and reckless print-money spending.
But they'll come out-of-the-ether quick when we get humiliated overseas, the dollar tanks, inflation hits 10%, or a desperate Rezko/Blago sing to prosecutors about their former pal Barack... who's closet is surely chock-full o' bones.
Time is simply on the GOP's side: neither Obama's big-government spending nor his Carter-esque foreign policy based on appeasement have any precedent of success... anywhere.... ever. And the press can't just do stories on his puppy-vetting process and how he likes to play basketball for four years... can they?
Obama hasn't been tested overseas, nor has he yet gotten to the hard part domestically: he's yet to raise taxes, nationalize healthcare, or provide mass amnesty for illegal immigrants. He hasn’t closed down the car companies he now runs and he has not yet forced a 30+ % jump in utility bills and myriad other products with his cap-and-trade stealth-tax schemes. And these are all on the Obama agenda.
Most likely, when all this pork-n-welfare spending fails to produce real economic gains, the Democrats face a bloodbath in 2010-
And by 2012? People will wince at the very mention of the name Obama-
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com/
So much he has to do?
April 30, 2009 - 08:51 ET by ckbennetttnOther than run the country in the ground? dance and have cocktail parties? pal around with commies? Right, he's sooooooo busy.
Obama has advanced just what he wanted and not had ANY interference. He now has to worry about the flu? Wow, poor guy. Good thing he doesn't have to worry about terrorists killing Americans or anything like that.
Obama: 'I screwed up'--We're going to be seeing this a lot.
Jer & other silly FOX-haters
April 30, 2009 - 09:45 ET by MrShySeriously. And I *mean*, seriously.
"The Most Trusted Name In.......NEWS", and this is what this pathetic outfit rolls out? A-, A-, A, A, A- ???
It's an absolute outrage and beyond corrupt, how thoroughly in the tank and shilling CNN (and we know about MSNBC) are for this man and his party.
FOX. *Literally*, of the three, the closest thing to fair and balanced HANDS DOWN.
This is a complete joke.
You're the next contestant on...
THE MESSIAH IS... LEFT !!
Obama was "nuanced" and "up to speed on the issues..."
April 30, 2009 - 09:56 ET by PrairieSkyPlease...He spoke for an hour and took 13 questions (some of them complete softballs), and he basically said nothing. I love how these twits are so enchanted with the "way" that Obama says things..."he speaks in as articulate a way..." yada, yada, yada. And Gloria Borger's assertion that "...he has so much more that he's got to do than Presidents in recent memory" is completely absurd. She has apparently conveniently forgotten the fact that after barely 8 months in office, President Bush had to deal with 9/11 and all it's repercussions. Granted, what Obama is dealing with now (some of which he has made worse) is no cake walk, but compared to what this country and President Bush had to face with 9/11, what's going on now doesn't even come close.
My grade for Obama's "performance" last night? I'll give him a "D" for showing up on time and for managing to stay in sync with his beloved teleprompter...
"...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever." President Ronald Reagan~ January 20, 1981
Just wondering, since the
April 30, 2009 - 09:55 ET by fitzfongJust wondering, since the only times I ever catch CNN are when I'm stuck at the airport...when is Roland Martin not filling in for Campbell Brown?
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." -Winston Churchill