Obama’s First Year By The Numbers

Mark Knoller of CBS News has looked at some numbers to regarding Barack Obama’s first year in office. Obama gave twice as many news conferences (42) as George Bush (21). This included four in prime time by Obama and only one in prime time by Bush.

Obama gave 158 interviews which is described as more than his recent predecessors but actual numbers for previous presidents were not given:

This is a striking number of interviews and far more than any of his recent predecessors in their first year. Ninety of the sessions were TV interviews. Eleven were radio. The rest were newspaper and magazine. The number reflects the White House media strategy that Mr. Obama can best respond to questions in an interview setting.

George Bush did beat Barack Obama in some categories. Obama had 74 meetings with foreign leaders while Bush had 115 meetings. (The numbers include meeting with the same leader on more than one occasion). Obama made 11 visits including all or part of 27 days to Camp David while Bush made 26 visits his first year including all or part of 81 days. Of course nobody comes close to George Bush in days spent on vacation. Obama spent all or part of 26 days over 4 trips his first year while Bush spent 69 days at his Texas ranch during 9 trips.

The report does not compare successful terrorist attacks on American soil during the first year of each of their watches.

1 Comment

  1. 1
    Tom Degan says:

    A year ago tonight I was looking forward with great anticipation to the presidency of Barack Obama. I thought that this may very well be the “new age” that I have been looking forward to for most of my life. What a difference a year makes. Thus far, as you might imagine, I have been let down by this president. That is why it is so funny to see him labeled by the Right a “radical socialist”. If Obama were half as radical as the Conservative media is trying to portray him, people like me wouldn’t be one tenth as disappointed in him as we are.
    Don’t misunderstand, I am still grateful that he was elected last year. I thank God every day that John McCain will not be sleeping in the Executive Mansion tonight and that Fascist Barbi will not be a heartbeat away from the presidency. While it is true that he has not yet given us the “change we can believe in”, it is still too early in his term to make any final assessment. There is some time for optimism – although that time is dwindling rapidly. Still, the alternative to Obama’s election last year is just too weird to even contemplate. We should be grateful for that – I guess – and for the fact that Dick Cheney is no longer running the country.
    Franklin D. Roosevelt once said of the American Plutocracy, “They hate me and I welcome their hatred.” Obama needs to take a cue from FDR. Instead of trying to “reach out” to the right wing, he needs to understand that they are not his friends; that their political fortunes rest on a single strategy: that his administration is a complete failure. They don’t care a thing for the welfare of the people they are supposed to represent. The only thing that concerns them is the corporate constituency they act as hand maidens for. You would think that after almost a year in office the president would have learned this lesson, wouldn’t you? Perhaps he has. We shall see.
    http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
    Tom Degan

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