Hey Lib,
Is Obama going too far holding all these press conferences? He’s acting like he’s the president.    
Concerned in Ithaca, NY

Dear Concerned,

Why shouldn’t he? George Bush has been acting like he’s the president for eight years. Besides, Obama’s press conferences serve two useful functions: they reassure the markets that Obama is going to do something about the economy, and they reassure the markets that George Bush is NOT going to do something about the economy. If you don’t think Bush can make things any worse with misguided efforts, think again. If that man was at the helm of the Titanic, the ship would have been on fire before it sank. And everyone would have had salmonella. Oh, and the distress call would have put their location as somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.

The only thing of consequence that George Bush has done in the past month is to pardon the Thanksgiving turkeys, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to screw that one up. His photo-op turkeys were probably accidentally shipped to Butterball as soon as the ceremony was over. Or they were sent to Alaska to serve as the macabre backdrop to a Sarah Palin interview.

Obama should get as much face time as possible. It just makes people feel better about the future. Let’s face it, being reminded that Bush is still technically president is not good for anyone. It’s like boarding an airplane and seeing Gary Busey in the cockpit… sipping on a pint of Old Grandad. Oh, and the co-pilot is Nick Nolte.

Of course, Obama isn’t in office yet, and he really can’t do anything at this point except reassure people. Still, if his actions send the message that nobody is really in charge, that’s still a step up from having George Bush in charge.

Yours,
Frederick Douglas Trotsky-Goldman