Coming out party

Saw Barack's first pulse-pounding presidential press conference earlier tonight. On balance I'd have to say he did a fine job. Last year, when it looked like McCain/Palin might just get in there, a lolcats-style poster of Obama started circulating online, with the text, "Chill motherfuckers, I've got this." I sort of got that feeling watching him. There's panic in the air about how much the stimulus will be watered down. And it's no secret that most congressional Republicans don't want to give him anything but tax cuts. So it's good that he went out there and made a forceful case for spending on education--for example--and also on transportation. He did talk about Elkhart, Indiana a lot, which strikes me as a little much. But that's me, and I've got a lower "Okay, we get it" threshold than a lot of other people. So he probably threw in just the right amount of Elkhart.

UPDATE: I figured that the The
Rude One would have a good time watching, and I was right. He brings up a question, though.

8:09: The first question is already about trying to undermine his credibility. A question: why don't reporters act like this is just post-9/11? This is arguably a worse actual crisis, if not quite as spectacular. It's more like a tragedy directed by Ingmar Bergman, not Michael Bay. No, deference is not pretty. In any circumstance. But the stink of hypocrisy is as pronounced as a fart in an old elevator.

But really, it's better that he's not getting his ass kissed, Bush in '02 style. In fact it's not an entirely bad thing that reporters bring piddling and petty gossip rag questions to him, like the guy who basically asked, "What's with the no bipartisanship? Is that your fault or what?" When Barack hears the Fox-y questions directly it gives him a chance to show how well he suffers fools. Or not, if the situation warrants it.