Obama's March Madness? Why he's taking British PM to hoops extravaganza.
It鈥檚 the visuals, stupid!
That鈥檚 the message behind Tuesday鈥檚 halftime press conference with President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron during the NCAA tournament kickoff game in Ohio.
Typically, of course, presidents and prime ministers meet the press in more august settings 鈥� ones that are plentiful in gold leaf rather than cheese fries. But holding the only joint press event of Mr. Cameron's visit to the US at a basketball game speaks not only to the perpetual desire to show world leaders as "average Joes," but also to make a statement about the US-British relationship.听
鈥淭he message here is that the relationship between Britain and the US is like a relative or a close friend,鈥� says Paul Levinson, a media professor at听Fordham University in New York.听鈥淵ou only take someone you like and are comfortable with to your favorite sports game.鈥�
The jaunt on Air Force One from the nation鈥檚 capital to the heart of March Madness in the Midwest may be a foreign-policy first, but the strategy is firmly in line with one of the great traditions of American politics 鈥� sending the message that no matter how rich or educated, this candidate (as the president is) still relates to common听folk.
鈥淭his is presidential electoral politics for a populist age,鈥� says Jerald Podair, professor of history and American studies at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. 听
But the populist touch can often backfire. Candidate John Kerry once said he loved "Lambert Field" in Green Bay, Wis. (The Packers' stadium is actually Lambeau Field.) Mitt Romney hobnobbed at the Daytona 500, but said he had friends who were NASCAR team owners.
It "undercut his common-man message by reminding everyone how rich he is,鈥� says Professor Podair. 听听
The strategy did work for Bill Clinton when he appeared on 鈥�Arsenio Hall" playing the saxophone, and it stretches back through William Henry Harrison and his successful 鈥淟og Cabin and Hard Cider鈥� campaign of 1840.
鈥淭his is all about the visuals in a campaign cycle,鈥� says Ben Bogardus,听an assistant professor of journalism in the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.听 鈥淗ow many times can you broadcast the president speaking from the Rose Garden or the East Room of the White House without people tuning him out?鈥�
But put him at the opening game of a college basketball rite with a sports commentator 鈥� Clark Kellogg of CBS Sports 鈥� doing the interview, and now 鈥測ou have something interesting for fans to watch and something new for all the secondary outlets to run,鈥� says Professor Bogardus.
There are risks that the experience could come across as stilted, says Matthew Hale, a political scientist at听Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty weird in some ways because Cameron knows nothing about basketball,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 sort of like taking a foreign exchange student to the prom.鈥澨�
If Cameron听looks out of touch with the game, says Professor Hale, 鈥渢hen Obama risks being associated with that rather than the common-man message he intends.鈥�
And then there is the news from abroad. The appearance of the two figures听in such a non-serious setting at a time when dire news from Afghanistan is hovering in the background could be an issue.
But only if the interview delves into hard-news subjects, says听Richard Goedkoop, a professor of communication at La Salle University in Philadelphia. 鈥淢y guess is that it won't,鈥� he says.
Obama鈥檚 use of the halftime broadcast slot marks a new level of message integration in politics,听says Robert Thompson, founder of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University in New York.听
鈥淗e鈥檚 just part of the game,鈥� he says.
The British prime minister also comes away with a benefit. 鈥淚f Obama is using March Madness for a guaranteed audience for his message, then the prime minister gets to slip a pitch for the Summer Olympics in London under his plate as well,鈥� he says.
