Was it really 'Joe being Joe,' or a brilliant campaign move before Clooney’s Hollywood fundraiser by the Obama campaign?

May 10, 2012

Considering the amount of dialogue from across the media spectrum it has received, after seeing the so-called hastily-put together ABC video interview the president had yesterday with Good Morning America anchor reporter, Robin Roberts, the light bulb in my head final came on realizing the possibility of what had just been done. Was it really the “Joe being Joe show” on NBC’s Meet The Press with David Gregory’s questioning laying open the gay marriage issue and dominating political and social discussion for this week, including on all means of media, beyond a doubt. President Barack Obama has made himself the focus for the foreseeable period of time, with an opportunity to really re-establish his record from an improvement perspective, along with a thought left to ponder how much worse things could have been if nothing had been done. With all eyes on him being real, the other guy (Romney) further demeaned his own caricature by being so quick to sell out for political/monetary support, showing his leadership plasticity.

The smooth performer versus the plastic relic? In this day, the eye and ear appeal that the former has is way ahead of that of the latter, for far more reasons than his appealing to whatever human senses that enable one to take a closer, more direct look at his actual spoken words by most segments of the public. Of course, realizing that there are segments of the population that would never even consider voting for him, and moving on from there, makes it easier to think that whether planned or the result and by-product of happen-stance, gift-wrapped courtesy of Joe Biden, will probably wind up being a net political gain for the president of the United States, in more ways than one.

Discussion of the potential loss of support from black church-going people, including ministers and those who are remnants of the black middle classes who range in issue/political oriented perspective from the very conservative to very liberal. There never was a monolithic black body politic, anyway. If there are black ministers who fall away from supporting Obama, then I’d more suspect that the individual has an ecumenical/theological problem to resolve within themselves for the sake of his/her congregation, and not one of simply deciding to support or reject one or the other as exercising a practical, political action, as a functional American citizen. There may be a number who are looking for an excuse to break-away without being labeled by the community in demeaning way, or derisive manner. The gay marriage vs. “marriage is one-man, one woman…” gives them an excuse, which will hopefully help them at the same time as an opportunity to improve their personal lot, provided it is an honorable one.

The real telling fact will be how effective this week’s events will have been in boosting fundraising totals for the Obama campaign and perhaps the PACs, as fuel that’s going to be needed against the onslaught of cash from a bunch of billionaire and millionaire sources on the right, geared to stop its momentum.. The forecast was for $15 million in the Hollywood fundraiser, held at the home of movie star/actor George Clooney. If it winds up being that or more, it might set the tone of the DNC shoring up its perceived base segments by applying political pressure on the do-nothing Republicans blocking legislation from moving forward in the House and Senate, and confirming belief in what is regarded as individual rights that shouldn’t be open to being legislated away.

The discussion of the last 30 hours has been dominating broadcast air time in every media venue, after the airing of the president’s interview. The most notable story of the opposition’s standard bearer, Mitt Romney, was the reporting of a bullying event perpetrated during his teen years.[1] Each side’s campaign operatives who were reactively pro-active in making themselves available to attempt getting on any venue of news talk shows, have demonstrated how a particular, controversial issues can dominate big blocks of time and the public’s attention. Even the reporters who effectively elicited comments from contrary personalities relevant to the politico-governmental sphere of things can make the opposition look bad; leaving an adversarial impression of them that can be long-lasting. One need only ask Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner (OH). With recent images and impressions left by the “tanning mom” being in the news, the conviction of Boehner’s words and his image, left to linger in the memory of voters, might begin to morph into something non-complimentary.

Sources, resources and references: MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, C-SPAN,

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/10/john-boehner-mitt-romney-gay-marriage_n_1506665.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/la-pn-obama-abc-interview-gay-marriage-20120509,0,661199.story

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/msnbc-tv/47372870/#47370896

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57432126-503544/obama-set-for-george-clooney-fundraiser-tonight/

http://www.mediaite.com/online/david-axelrod-blasts-romney-over-limbaugh-response-calls-gop-primary-a-death-march/

[1] MSNBC, Hardball, with Chris Matthews, May 10, 2012.

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