Have You Driven Obama Lately?

In a recent article for NEW YORK, Jennifer Senior discusses new media rock star, President Barack Obama, and the sheer volume of information that the White House delivers and the media culture that facilitates our insatiable appetite for it. Writes Senior:

[H]e’s the first president who has grasped the possibilities of today’s high-velocity, high-density, highly variegated media landscape. With the exception of George W. Bush, all of Obama’s predecessors had a limited number of news outlets in which to make their cases, limited space in which to do it, and a time-bound moment to make their mark…Now…the web provides infinite space for both its own native forms…and old media, making it possible for us to watch a speech or read a story whenever we want, unconstrained by space and time.

Obama's raised the bar for presidential visibility. Love him or not, people like that they can see him regularly. Everyone feels like they have an opportunity to participate politically—even if it means just shouting at the top of their lungs or swooning over a charismatic wink.

Despite the concerns of those fearing a godless pinko takeover destined to last one thousand years, Barack Obama still has to defend his belt in 2012. In an age where our attention spans are increasingly short, few presidential contenders can hope to outproduce him (not even Mitt TV). But can sheer celebrity and exposure really propel him to a second term?

—JONATHAN PITTS-WILEY