COVERITLIVE.COM

9:00

Fred Barbash-Moderator - Welcome to Arena live. What did you think of the President's news conference. What do you think of the commentary on the President's news conference? Does anyone really care whether he did or did not use a teleprompter? The reporters last night seemed to think they peppered him with tough questions. Dana Perino, on this site, says she didn't think they were tough at all. Darrell West doesn't think they "laid a glove on him." Some Arena commentators think some of the critics obsess over trivia. Personally, what matters to me is whether a president effectively communicates what he wants to communicate. Did Obama do that?

9:02	[Comment From John] I don't care if he uses a teleprompter, but things always feel so scripted.

9:03	Fred Barbash-Moderator - And for an interesting "translation" of the President's words--what he said, what he meant to say, see this piece by my colleagues John Harris and Jonathan Martin.

9:04	[Comment From RestlessConsumer] I do not think the press was extremely tough but they surely toughened up. Dana Perino would not think they were tough. She is trying to make herself look better.

9:05	Fred Barbash-Moderator - I think Dana's point was that they were not as tough as the press is making itself out to be...especially, if I might, CNN's trumpeting of Ed Henry's supposedly "tough" question about AIG bonuses--I think it was.

9:07	Fred Barbash-Moderator - Folks: Please use a name rather than a handle here. Restless Consumer we'll let this by for now...We like names.

9:07	[Comment From RestlessConsumer] Regardless. President Obama does a great job at deflecting tough questions. So if the press does throw tough questions he responds with a calculated response.

9:09	[Comment From Tim] They should have been tougher on him. He's not an infant. Let him explain the buildup of debt, as opposed to cutting the deficit.

9:09	[Comment From sally] I think the whole media is spending too much time fussing over things instead of looking at the big picture, hence why Obama stays scripted. One misspoken word can cause too many worthless heartaches.

9:11	[Comment From Marie] I was impressed with the press conference. The nit-picking, the accusations of him being long winded or not specific enough, I just didn't get that. I was impressed with President Obama's grasp of the issues. I never really got that sense with our previous president.

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