Obama Press Conference Bumped By Britain's Susan Boyle

July 21st, 2009 10:36 AM

In another example of Barack Obama's appeal diminishing with the public, the White House was forced to reschedule Wednesday's press conference to 8PM from 9PM as NBC didn't want its summer hit "America's Got Talent" to be pre-empted.

Appearing on Wednesday's program will be an interview with "Britain's Got Talent's" Susan Boyle, who became an international star earlier this year with her miraculous performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Miserables."

As The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed revealed Monday, NBC didn't want to bump Boyle for Obama:

CBS, which airs only repeats that evening, agreed early Monday to cover the conference.

But for NBC, Fox and ABC, the decision was tougher. During a summer that's otherwise strewn with repeats, Wednesday includes all of their top-rated reality programs.

Fox declined outright to air the news conference. NBC and ABC fell into line late Monday after the White House shifted the event's time from the previously announced 9 p.m. to the lesser-watched hour of 8 p.m.

The stakes were particularly high for NBC, which airs the most-watched show of the summer, "America's Got Talent," at 9 p.m. This week, the reality hit includes a heavily promoted interview with "Britain's Got Talent" singing sensation Susan Boyle.

Sources said that NBC demonstrated reluctance to carry Obama's news conference live. Faced with the prospect of only one or two major broadcasters -- CBS and ABC -- covering the event, the White House moved its start time to 8 p.m.

In response to a request for comment, a White House representative said, "In speaking with various media outlets, we found that rescheduling for one hour earlier would help us to arrange for as many Americans as possible to hear directly from the President at the press conference."

How delicious: an ordinary British woman that nobody heard of just a few months ago bumped Obama.

Makes one wonder how the folks on the far-left will blame this on former President Bush.