AMERICAblog: Obama's weekly radio address: The video version
Older_Wiser
· 1 year ago
Hope at last, hope at last.
From NPR:
Part of the reason for Sarkozy's success, says Philippe Dessertine, head of Paris' High Finance Institute, was America's lack of leadership during the crisis, which broke under an unpopular, lame-duck U.S. president and during a heated presidential race.
But the dynamics have changed, Dessertine says.
"So now there is a real president in the U.S.," he says. "There is a real man in action. And for everybody, including of course Nicolas Sarkozy, it will be important to have such a person in front of them. All the evolution that Sarkozy and all the European community is wanting must be accepted by the new president and the new administration."
nv1962
· 1 year ago
Translation: "I'm French, and I happen to dislike Sarkozy, so I'll point to something or someone abroad (oh heck, let's take the US) as a backdrop for my projection that Sarkozy will suddenly and dramatically implode and, on the sly, drop some innuendo that the EU is a weak bunch of do-nothings because I envy those strong, masculine United States!"
Yawn...
He'd be more on the mark if he'd say that the rather high expectations placed on Obama (as exemplified in his European trip) are a dangerous trap, as those deliberately overblown expectations can be used down the road to excuse any failure to meet them - which is yet another excuse to justify relative inaction and anemic cooperation.
Mitchla
· 1 year ago
It's a fantastic idea with great potential, Hopefully he'll get up to speed on this soon. Content: a bit predictable. Production: No depth to the flat set.
dad
· 1 year ago
it will be much better from the Oval Office
DAB
· 1 year ago
I'm struck with how natural this seems for the president-elect -- he's been putting videos out on YouTube since he started running, so why wouldn't he turn his weekly radio address into a video? -- and yet how it never even seemed to occur to the president to do the same thing. No surprise from either from them, in other words.
I wonder what the effect will be after Jan 20 that we become familiar with the president not just by him waving to cameras as he walks from Marine One to the White House or read about him in the third-person in the newspaper, but in regular press conferences, YouTube videos, and other less formal venues. On the one hand, it should make him very relatable and a fit with a less formal age; on the other, familiarity can breed contempt. But Bush's distance from the public certainly hasn't help his popularity, so I think it can probably only help.
robertdsc
· 1 year ago
This is change I can believe in.
MichaelS
· 1 year ago
Looks like he's talking into a wide-angle (almost fish-eye) web cam, not particularly flattering. The color is flat, the perspective is weird. The video is a great idea, but conveying image is half the journey -- come on, guys, get a camera operator in there to do it right!
dacnova
· 1 year ago
I'm disappointed it's not closed captioned. Is there a YouTube option I'm not aware of?
OriGuy
· 1 year ago
If you hover over the button in the lower right while the video is playing, a menu pops up with a CC icon. However, its greyed out on this video and there is a popup message that says "Captions are not available". Too bad. They should caption it. Maybe they're working on it.
MalibuBarbie
· 1 year ago
We are the American citizenry and we approve this message.
ruthlessgravity
· 1 year ago
Love it. A weekly reminder of why he is the right person to lead this country at this time!
xjn
· 1 year ago
Firefox-side Chat?
Indigo
· 1 year ago
He din't say "G'bless!"
talentwave
· 1 year ago
I love that he is doing this. He needs to be a little more informal and really talk to us not at us. He was a bit stiff and even thought this is really sober stuff, I can use this less formal medium to say things he wouldn't say on network TV.
rextrek1
· 1 year ago
Finally! A nt we can be Proud of.....it's a Miracle! A President who ACTUALLY speaks English..and understands the words he's saying!
TPierce
· 1 year ago
Wait--that was ENGLISH? I--I didn't recognize it! I'm not used to English from leadership! I--I don't know what to do, now. I think I need a moment, and then I'll have to listen again. Maybe I can get a translator.
I tell you, this English thing is too radical! People aren't ready for it!
PaulG
· 1 year ago
I'm convinced he knows the problems we have and wants to fix them. I'm convinced he can come up with a solution that will work and he has the courage and integrity and confidence in us to present us with that solution. I just don't know whether or not the people are going to freak out when he tries it.
Rob Mule
· 1 year ago
Three basic teevee production tips for the President-elect's crew that were not lost on his campaign crew... #1--Put focal distance between Mr. Obama and the background. #2-Lose the generic setting... #3-Chiaroscuro lighting of the soft focus background...
All Comments
From NPR:
Part of the reason for Sarkozy's success, says Philippe Dessertine, head of Paris' High Finance Institute, was America's lack of leadership during the crisis, which broke under an unpopular, lame-duck U.S. president and during a heated presidential race.
But the dynamics have changed, Dessertine says.
"So now there is a real president in the U.S.," he says. "There is a real man in action. And for everybody, including of course Nicolas Sarkozy, it will be important to have such a person in front of them. All the evolution that Sarkozy and all the European community is wanting must be accepted by the new president and the new administration."
Yawn...
He'd be more on the mark if he'd say that the rather high expectations placed on Obama (as exemplified in his European trip) are a dangerous trap, as those deliberately overblown expectations can be used down the road to excuse any failure to meet them - which is yet another excuse to justify relative inaction and anemic cooperation.
I wonder what the effect will be after Jan 20 that we become familiar with the president not just by him waving to cameras as he walks from Marine One to the White House or read about him in the third-person in the newspaper, but in regular press conferences, YouTube videos, and other less formal venues. On the one hand, it should make him very relatable and a fit with a less formal age; on the other, familiarity can breed contempt. But Bush's distance from the public certainly hasn't help his popularity, so I think it can probably only help.
I tell you, this English thing is too radical! People aren't ready for it!
#1--Put focal distance between Mr. Obama and the background.
#2-Lose the generic setting...
#3-Chiaroscuro lighting of the soft focus background...