President Obama continues his real campaign march tonight with a visit to Jay Leno's couch at the "Tonight Show."
And then Friday afternoon, it's on to what last time was essentially a campaign rally masking as an interview on MTV.
What hath Bill Clinton wrought with his saxophone and Arsenio Hall?
I admit I was one of the analysts who celebrated Clinton taking the presidential campaign to new entertainment TV venues and presumably audiences.
But after seeing Obama on Comedy Central last week talking about the deaths of four Americans as not being "optimal," I have come to believe Obama has taken this TV game to an extreme that demeans the process, the office and possibly even the sacrifice of Americans who are serious and selfless enough to risk their lives for this nation.
One of the jobs of the president is to help lead the nation in determining what's important and what's not -- what we should focus our minds and resources on, and what is merely diversion.
His commitment to the TV talk show couch is part of a longer process of our culture amusing itself to death -- to borrow Neil Postman's term. Obama didn't start it, but he's certainly given this downward spiral away from seriousness a major boost. He's leading from in front on this one, and you can see it tonight.