海角大神

President聽Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were guests Tuesday on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭he View,鈥� the talk show with the numerous female hosts. It鈥檚 an appearance the First Couple taped Monday after they arrived in New York for the opening of the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly.

Mr. Obama also found time to jam in a quick appearance on NBC鈥檚 鈥淭oday鈥� to talk education policy. But he hasn鈥檛 scheduled a one-on-one meeting with any of the foreign leaders who鈥檝e come to New York for the UN festivities.

Critics have hit this state of affairs hard, saying that Obama is slighting foreign policy in favor of fluffy shows that aid his reelection effort. In particular they鈥檝e complained about the fact that Obama declined a meeting request from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

鈥淭he president鈥檚 unwillingness to meet with Bibi Netanyahu when he is in New York but instead willing to go on the 鈥楾he View鈥� in New York 鈥� I mean, I think it speaks volumes to the lack of seriousness with which the president is taking the current situation,鈥� said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R) of Virginia in a Monday conference call organized by the Romney campaign.

Should Obama have skipped sitting down with Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, et al?

First, we鈥檇 agree that 鈥淭he View鈥� appearance is reelection-related. As our colleague Gloria Goodale noted yesterday, softer news-like talk shows have become a favorite venue for the Obama campaign. They鈥檙e friendlier than a press conference, and guests benefit from the good feelings viewers have toward their favorite shows.

On "The View," for instance, Barack and Michelle got to indulge in a little First Couple Nick-and-Nora (look it up) banter about whether Michelle should run for office. Barack indicated she wasn鈥檛 temperamentally suited for the job, and, uh, Michelle agreed she鈥檚 not patient.

The president got to ruminate about what he鈥檇 do after his term, saying he鈥檇 like to work with young people. He talked guardedly about the murder of the US ambassador in Libya, walking right up to the edge of calling it a pre-planned terrorist attack.

Obama鈥檚 campaign team was probably pretty happy with the whole thing.

Second, we think the Netanyahu meeting is a separate issue. Obama did not turn that down due to time pressure. He did not want to do it for policy reasons. Now, one can argue about that 鈥� Romney says Obama is snubbing one of our most important allies 鈥� but 鈥淭he View鈥� really has little to do with that dispute.

As to meeting other leaders, Obama鈥檚 missing a chance to develop deeper personal relationships. An in-depth story in today鈥檚 New York Times notes that鈥檚 something Obama lacks in the Middle East in particular.

So yes, that may be a negative. But if you鈥檙e Obama, you may be thinking that the election is in six weeks, and if you lose, it doesn鈥檛 matter if your ties to the Saudi royal family are on the upswing.

Thus Obama is spending only 24 hours in the Big Apple. He spent Monday night at a UN reception where many other world leaders were present, noted White House spokesman Jay Carney. Tuesday he gave the traditional high-profile UN opening address by a US president.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a real moment for the US to assert its values and its leadership role,鈥� Carney said Monday at a press briefing.

So what's the president doing instead of hanging around New York? On Wednesday, he heads out (surprise!) on the campaign trail. He鈥檒l be going to Ohio, the most important of the battleground states in the 2012 election.