Comedian and radio talk show host Rosie O'Donnell, who formerly hosted "The View," quipped, "I don't really think sitting presidents should go do fluffy daytime TV shows."
Appearing on MSNBC's political talk show "Morning Joe" Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell declared, "I think the President of the United States has to go on serious shows."
The White House media team countered that Obama's appearance on "The View" was meant to speak directly to the people, especially women, who make up the bulk of the program's audience.
Setting aside the question of whether or not Obama should have accepted the invitation to appear on the program in the first place, how did the president do once he was there? Was his time on the couch with the ladies who rule the morning TV chatter productive or a wasted PR opportunity? How did it rank among his other memorable TV appearances? Surge Desk surveys the blogosphere:
"Say this for the president: He knows how to charm the ladies," The Plank's Michelle Cottle wrote of the show, concluding, "It wasn't exactly must-see political tv, but neither was it an embarrassingly fuzzy gab-fest."
At The Daily Beast, Tunku Varadarajan mused, "Breathless questions came at the president from the affectionate women, and answers flowed back--sinuous, unending answers, answers that were--inevitably, when it came to health care, and the economy, and Iraq, and Afghanistan--long-winded. Obama has but one gear, and whether it be at a day-time love-fest or at a bipartisan televised pow-wow, his inability to do anything other than hold forth is quite undeniable."
Time's James Poniewozik also took a measured view Obama's sit-down, granting that some people simply may hold the opinion that presidents and day time talk shows must never meet. "But judged against the universe of non-news programs, Obama's appearance on the show was actually more thoughtful and substantive than the usual political appearance on a late-night talk show.
Ben Smith noted that the appearance could be fodder for a new controversy: Snooki-gate. In the rapid-fire pop culture question section of the show, Obama conceded that he had never heard of Snooki, the buxom star of MTV's reality show "Jersey Shore."
"The evidence contradicts," Smith wrote, pointing out that the president had mentioned Snooki's name in at the 2010 White House Correspondents Association. Of course, as Smith also admits, her name could simply have added into a speech without the president's knowledge. Writing at The Corner, meanwhile, Jonah Goldberg is calling for articles of impeachment to be drawn based on the President's ignorance of America's latest, greatest reality TV icon. (Kust kidding, of course!)
In other news, the hotly-anticipated second season of "Jersey Shore" premieres tonight on MTV at 10 p.m. EST, so no matter how good or bad Obama's "View" appearance was, it will likely be forgotten by the cultural consciousness in a matter of mere hours.
