You can’t miss President Obama these days, as he undertakes a media blitz that has watchers nodding and shaking their heads in equal proportion, Linton Weeks writes for NPR. “The president who promised to be transparent is actually omniparent—appearing all over tarnation.” Some see the saturation as necessary to push the stimulus plan; others fear he will burn out, damaging the presidency.
Compared to Bill Clinton and FDR, Obama's practically a recluse, but it's all relative. “He is, after all, a community organizer,” Weeks notes, “taking on the largest community project in the United States, that of reuniting the states.” Historian Allan Lichtman says Obama’s status as a “unique figure” makes his omnipresence unavoidable. “He's Lincoln meets American Idol meets Muhammad Ali.” (More President Obama stories.)