The Media Prepares To Saturate With “Obama is Overexposed” Meme

President Obama starts his marathon round of interviews today ahead of Sunday’s “el Completo” when he will appear on five networks (but not Fox). On Monday he does Letterman. On Wednesday he addresses the UN. All of this follows last week’s joint session address, and this week’s ‘jackass’ remark. So perhaps it shouldn’t come as a total surprise that it appears the press is about to dust off and cart out the “Obama media saturation” meme.

Granted Obama is doing a lot of television, but he’s been doing a lot of it all along and it’s not like the President has suddenly launched a tumblr! (Though I do think he should reconsider the chalkboard this weekend. Also, Office Hours!) However here are some early warning signs that if the President does not succeed in selling this health care bill, or at least appear to divert the debate even a little bit, next week’s conversation, and at least the cover of one weekly, is going to be all about how too much Obama has diluted Obama’s power.

• The New York Times wants to know whether “the president cheapening his currency by being so visible? Or is he simply being media savvy?”
  
  Sound familiar? Last time the NYT addressed the saturation question (in July) the paper quoted Joe Trippi saying “It’s a risk of overexposure…If you use it all up on health care, you may not be able to use it on something else. But if you’re going to risk using it all up, this is the one to risk it on.”

• CBS’s Mark Knoller, jokes that Obama may be missing some stops on his media train and should consider other cable show options like The Food Network, Animal Planet, and “Dog the Bounty Hunter.’
• Over at ABC, The Note’s Rick Klein wants to know “If Obama has something new to say“: “Now comes President Obama’s latest big moment — except it’s really three or four days’ worth of moments…It’s the president’s chance (as if heeded to create them) to say his piece — over and over, and over and over, and over and over. It’s not a bad time to say something new.
  

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  barack obama, Joe Wilson, Kanye West, Mark Knoller, New York Times, Rick Klein, The State of Journalism
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