Obama Back in Control

On a substantive level, the press conference provided an illuminating window into Obama's style of argumentation. In the most provocative sound bite of the evening, Obama responded to a question about why was he slow to voice outrage over the AIG bonuses by snapping, "Well, it took a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak." Of course, if cable television news and talk radio followed the Obama Doctrine, there would be long intervals of gape-jawed silence during the broadcast day. Even though a CBS New poll found that a quarter of Democrats and more than 40 percent of independents disapproved of Obama's handling of the AIG tempest, the testiness of the usually self-disciplined president can be seen as sign that he is no longer nearly as worried about an anti-bonus army of angry voters.

Obama Back in Control