Tips On Public Speaking, Mr. President

Trolling through the blogs and news today, there is much hand-wringing and chest-beating over the President’s press conference last night. So I thought I’d weigh in. Granted, I didn’t actually SEE it, but I’ve never let the facts get in the way of forming an opinion before so why let it stop me now?

That being said, here are my top observations, in no particular order:

• President Obama has some freaky skinny fingers. I’ve gotten so used to the Snausages exhibited by George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, etc. etc. that it’s a shock to see these things fluttering around the podium like a sack of angry tarantulas.

• President Obama is not, inherently, a funny guy. Sure, he’s a NICE guy, but he’s not the yukmaster that some others have been. For example, there’s Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sex with that woman” line, and when Dubya announced in 2003 that major combat operations were over under the “Mission Accomplished” banner? Hysterical! Anyway, he needs to step up his game on this front if he plans to leave any kind of lasting legacy.

• I think the idea to staff the Treasury Department with trained monkeys is a bad idea. Nothing against the monkeys, mind you, but it would probably be more prudent to fill those positions with something slightly less likely to hurl feces at random passers-by. Instead, they need to get someone with the judgment to know that he or she should only hurl feces at the Wall Street executives responsible for this mess, George Steinbrenner, the Jonas Brothers or anyone who feels the need to pull all the way over to the RIGHT when they are waiting to make a LEFT turn. I’m thinking that Curt Schilling might want the gig since he’s going into retirement right now.

• At one point Helen Thomas asked President Obama “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” I gotta admit it. I was wicked impressed when the guy actually came up with the answer of “About a cord and a half, depending on the weather.”
• I fully support the President’s assertion that the infield fly rule is the source of all evil and must be abolished immediately. I also agree with him when he said that failure to do so would force him to mobilize the National Guard against Barney, the purple dinosaur. Come to think of it, this isn’t entirely a bad idea.
• Note to the President: next time you open with a tune from a hit Broadway show, stick with something simple like “Spamalot.” You don’t have the vocal range for “Rent.” And you can forget anything from Andrew Lloyd Weber.
• I don’t really think the backup singers were necessary, although the sequined dresses and beehive hairdos were a nice touch. However, it probably would have worked a lot better if the singers were female. Just a thought.
• Having Congressman Eric Cantor strapped into a straitjacket and a Hannibal Lecter mask and dangling from a pole over the press corps, while somewhat appealing to me personally, might raise a Constitutional issue or two. Likewise, locking Harry Reid in a cage with two rabid wolverines with only a single layer of chicken wire between them and telling him he couldn’t come out until he developed a real personality was, in my opinion, patently unfair to the wolverines.
• Note to the President: next time you make a nautical metaphor don’t use a cruise ship. Everybody knows that cruise ships are the world’s largest supplier of fat people in horrible shirts, and quite frankly Rush Limbaugh fills our need on that front nicely, thank you. Also, I’d suggest an eye patch and a fake parrot.

So there you have it, Mr. President. Just a few suggestions and observations that I hope will make your next press conference more entertaining and informative. No need to thank me; I’m just doing my job as a citizen. I gotta lie down.