President Obama sat down for an interview – or rather, comedy skit – with Zach Galifianakis on his web series “Between Two Ferns.” Between questions like “So, which country were you rooting for in the Winter Olympics?” the president plugged Obamacare and Healthcare.gov.
Whatever your feelings about the president, one thing is clear: the man is funny. While certainly scripted, the segment managed to balance awkwardness and humor, while also staying on message. Traffic to Healthcare.gov was reportedly up 40% after the clip was posted. Obamacare needs young people to sign up so that risk pools are balanced between younger-and-healthier enrollees and older-and-sicker enrollees. The Obama administration set targets for the percentage of young adult enrollees (18-34) at 40%, while in January that percentage was only at 24%. So Obama’s appearance was good targeted marketing. And if Obama can ingratiate himself with some more millennials – who identify as Democrats over Republicans 50% to 34% – this bodes well for the future of the Democratic Party.
There has been a critique from Republicans that Obama’s appearance was poorly timed and demeaning to the office he holds. Bill O’Reilly noted that “some believe it was demeaning,” while arguing that the president looks weak during the showdown with Russia. O’Reilly concludes with the statement “Abe Lincoln would not have done it.” By the standards of conservative critiques, it was actually pretty mild stuff.
I think this criticism has some merit. Obama has shown an affinity for nontraditional media, from slow-jamming the news with Jimmy Fallon to snapping selfies with Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson. As David Graham in the Atlantic points out, these media appearances rarely include hard-hitting questions, while still allowing the president to get his message out. Critics of the president, especially from the left, like to complain that he doesn’t effectively use one of the main tools of the presidency, the bully pulpit. While talking with Galifianakis won’t pressure Republicans to pass immigration reform, it’s still an example of the bully pulpit at work by a president desperate to promote his main policy achievement. But it’s still a little weird to see a president on the set of a late-night talks how, never mind a web comedy bit.
The U.S. is unique in that its chief executive and its figurehead are the same person. Other countries have a separate president (figurehead) and prime minister (chief executive). Former monarchies like England often have royalty that can assume ceremonial duties, leaving poor Prime Minister David Cameron to be berated in the House of Commons. This is an awkward mix in the United States, and it’s why John McCain can call Obama “feckless” for his foreign policy in a press conference, but Joe Wilson was widely condemned for shouting “You lie!” during a State of the Union. Sometimes the presidency is a solemn office deserving of deference, sometimes not.Clearly there are some standards for where a president should and shouldn’t appear. President Obama can introduce the Seth MacFarlane-produced educational show Cosmos, but probably won’t make a guest appearance on Family Guy. These standards are changing with the times and the technology. In the long-run, Obama’s legacy won’t include his appearance on “Between Two Ferns.” But it’s worth remembering how multifaceted an office the presidency truly is: salesperson, party leader, commander-in-chief, diplomat, and national symbol. No wonder they all go gray so quickly.
Great point about comparative chief executive structures, I haven’t read that anywhere else. I read a scathing rejoinder to Bill O’Reilly somewhere, from an academic who studies Lincoln. The brutal irony of O’Reilly’s comment is that Lincoln was an inveterate prankster. His sketchy and sometimes bawdy sense of humor included practical jokes and, allegedly, fart gags.
I do think O’Reilly was trolling a bit, but the point about Lincoln is a good one – something the movie captured fairly well.