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    Weekly Address: My Economic Stimulus Package

    By Barack Obama on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 3:54pm | Politics

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    To expand on what I commented at TPM, this was a much better set layout than in Obama's first chat. He was more on center, and the large bright flag stage right was balanced by the brightness of the window, greenery and table lamp. Even though his hands were only half-visible while gesturing, I thought they brought emphasis to his measured delivery. He seemed less hunched over, too.

    But his eyes were shifting to read cue cards just off to the side, which made him look shifty-eyed (of course). His flag pin picked up some glare from the lighting. On stage we set builders soap mirrors and other bright surfaces to avoid glare (Orlando should soap all her mirrors, but that's another story).

    As far as the content, we do need work on infrastructure, and I can attest that there are a lot of idle contractors out there that could really use the work. Unfortunately a lot of that work has historically been riddled with corruption, and 2011 is a long way out there. Does modernizing schools mean money for public or charter schools?


    by Donal on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 4:38pm

    I could try to soap my mirrors, but my bright personality gives off it's own glare, so it's kind of pointless.

    I was talking about the set layout this morning too. I loved that there was a picture of his girls on the credenza. And also, that his head appeared in the bright spot of the window, giving it a halo-like glow--a particularly nice and ironic touch.

    The set last week looked like a civil servant's office in a city hall built in the 1970s.

    As for content, I didn't really listen. But isn't our new president cute?

    Just kidding. But I do think there's not a lot he can say in 4 minutes a week when he's not even the president yet. I think at this point, the addresses are meant to calm everybody down so the ship isn't sunk before January.


    by Orlando on Sat, 11/22/2008 - 6:00pm