Obama: The new Nixon?
With his "self-pitying" attitude to the press, Barack Obama seems more and more like Richard Nixon every day, writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times. A fair comparison?
In a striking sign of President Obama's mounting image problems, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd is comparing Obama to Richard Nixon for his frosty relationship with the press. Obama, like Nixon, seems to regard "scribes as intrusive," says Dowd, and he can't hide his "distaste for what he sees as the fundamental unseriousness of a press driven by blog-around-the-clock deadlines." Instead, Vice President Joe Biden has become the White House's friendly public face, horsing around with the press corps and doing more than his "self-pitying boss" to earn comparisons to JFK. Is it fair to compare Obama to Nixon, who battled with the press throughout his presidency, or has Dowd gone too far?
Even left-wingers finally see the truth about Obama: Thank goodness the liberal Maureen Dowd has shed her "hyper-partisanship" to recognize what we've been saying for months, says Don Surber at the Charleston, W.V., Daily Mail. The "narcissistic" Obama "is the center of his own little universe," and the White House now needs Joe Biden to play nice with the press while Obama complains about his coverage. "Obama as Nixon. Biden as Jerry Ford. We know how that ended."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This is about Obama's relationship with Maureen Dowd, not the press: Boy, "unrequited love can be a killer," says Nichole Hungerford at NewsRealBlog. Starved for attention from her favorite president, Maureen Dowd has used her trademark "catty, name-calling" wit to trash Obama for his coldness to the press. "Let this be a lesson to liberal politicians when dealing with the media: Suffer the consequences if you're not willing to put out."
"Maureen Dowd: Obama is a 'self-pitying Nixon'"
Dowd's right — Obama needs to be nicer to reporters: Obama's approach to the media, even before his presidency began, has always been "proximity without access," says Ari Melber at The Nation. He recently went a "whopping 300 days without a formal press conference." Just imagine if "President Bush tried that move." Obama should heed the lesson in Dowd's broadside: "Stop complaining about the media you have," and start treating it like the media you want.
"The solution to Obama's BP press problem"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
In The Spotlight A new study reveals the strengths and limitations
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'I will not be silent' on Gaza, says Kamala Harris
Speed Read In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris supported Israel's right to defend itself while expressing a desire to end Palestinian suffering
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'How long can TikTok dominate as a social network?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published