Across the pond

Barack Obama gave his second press conference yesterday, following a week in which he has faced attacks for not speaking out sooner about the multi-million dollar bonuses being collected by the failed insurance giant, AIG.

It was a carefully stage managed affair in front of the carefully selected members of the White House press corps.

The New York Times highlighted the fact that nearly all the questions were about the economy. Nothing about Iraq and Iran. The Guardian‘s US blogger, Michael Tomasky, thought there were not enough questions on the financial crisis. He highlights the answer to the question from AFP about Isreal’s new hard right government.

Tomasky says that Obama’s used his answer to give a wide-ranging appraisal of the Middle East, demonstrating that he is stampeded into hasty statements by the media clamour for instant action.

‘This is a big ocean liner. It’s not a speed boat.’, he said.

Sounds like a President who knows you can’t please all the media, all the time.

Roll on April 2nd when Obama, and the White House media circus, will be in London’s Docklands for the G20 summit.