New York Times Interviewer Tells Obama He’s ‘Amazing’ in Representing ‘Grief and Hope’
By Tim Graham
James Taranto at The Wall Street Journal had some fun with President Obama earlier in the week, matching headlines:
“Obama Makes Case Against Donald Trump, Saying Presidency ‘Is Not a Reality Show’ ”—headline, New York Times, May 7
“Barack Obama and Bryan Cranston on the Roles of a Lifetime”—headline, New York Times, May 8
This exchange was the most unctuous genuflection of the feature:
GALANES: I’ve probably watched too many
YouTube videos of you lately, but as amazing as you’ve been in your pop
culture moments – that tear for Aretha, singing “Let’s Stay Together” – I
think you’re the first president in my life who is fully a man of his
times. You’ve been the parents at Newtown, the boy who might have been
Trayvon. You’ve been the Dreamers and their anxious parents. Has it been
hard for you personally to represent such grief and hope?
OBAMA: One thing you have to keep in mind
is that I’m probably the most recorded, filmed and photographed person
in history up to now. Because I’m the first president who came along in
the digital age. Every leader is a funnel for the culture he lives in.
And despite the exotic name and weird background, I grew up as an
ordinary middle-class kid. The cultural touch points that shaped you are
the same ones that shaped me. And the fact that that was true until I
was 45 probably differentiates me from most presidents.
OBAMA: For somebody like L.B.J., who
fastened onto a political career early, it probably changed the way he
experienced culture and presented himself. It never felt like a burden
to me. What’s felt like a burden is seeing how politics has changed in
ways that make it harder for Washington to work. There are a set of
traditions, a constitutional design that allows someone like L.B.J. or
F.D.R. to govern. And when those norms break down, the machinery grinds
to a halt. That’s when you feel burdened. When you say, “Here’s what we
need to do.” I’ve made my argument; the majority of the population
agrees with me. Yet we’re confronted with endless filibusters and
polarization that forbids us from getting stuff done.
On the front of the Sunday section, they promoted Obama talking about how even he wouldn’t vote for the Fox News caricature of Obama. (Please. Obama would vote for himself every time….his high impression of himself comes out all over this interview.)
GALANES: Last subject: Bryan’s movie made me rethink legacy. It’s not just the achievement; it’s the flavor of it, too. L.B.J.’s legacy is not just civil rights and Vietnam, but also his hunger to be loved and win. President Bush’s legacy is not only 9/11 and the Iraq War, but also his susceptibility to advisers. What’s the flavor of your legacy?
OBAMA: Oh, it’s very hard for me to engage that.
CRANSTON: I can.
GALANES: You think it would be braggy?
OBAMA: No, it’s that there’s me, and then
there’s this character named “Barack Obama” who is slightly different
on Fox News than he is on MSNBC.I wouldn’t vote for the Barack Obama on
Fox News probably.
CRANSTON: He’s terrible.
OBAMA: What a loser! No, it’s hard to see
yourself in that way. The one area that I do feel confident about is
the notion of an inclusive nation, that everybody is part of this story.
That’s a running theme I’ve been faithful to throughout my presidency.
In the “Times Insider” feature, they asked Galanes how he prepared
for this joint interview, and Galanes oozed over the fictional Obama
autobiography: “I started with Mr. Obama’s memoir, Dreams From My
Father, which I recommend highly. It led me pretty directly to the
emotional spine of our discussion: two fatherless boys — Bryan and Mr.
Obama — searching for their identity in the world; the fathers they
became; and the work they do.”Editor’s note. This appeared at Newsbusters.
Source: NRLC News
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