Obama’s Oval Office address received something of a critical drubbing from cable news pundits (including Jon Stewart and Keith Olbermann), and today White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs decide to defend his boss to the congregation of reporters: “I appreciate the hand on the pulse of America by those who live on cable TV,” he said. “I don’t actually think that is where all of real America lives.”
Before taking that more direct jab, he offered his broader take on the cable news sphere:
“I said this before, I will reiterate it,” he argued. “If the president had decided to run for president based off what the pundits were saying in the December of 2006 and January of 2007, he would be in the Senate.”
Despite the almost-deafening chatter about the speech, it turns out the address was actually the second least-watched Obama speech ever. The primetime telecast was watched by 32.1 million viewers, 21 percent fewer than tuned in to his December speech regarding U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.
Gibbs Chides Olbermann, Cable Pundits For Being Out Of Touch [HuffPo]
