For a president who ran on uplifting themes like change and hope, Barack Obama spends an awful lot of time scolding Americans about how he hopes theyll change.He has advised parents to "replace that video game with a book and make sure that homework gets done." He has urged members of Congress not to read blogs or watch 24-hour cable news. And hes challenged lobbyists, lawmakers, bankers, journalists, insurance companies and other heads of state to do a better job.
Hes prodded people to get off the couch, eat healthier and exercise more. Hes even suggested Americans buy stocks, U.S.-made cars and energy-efficient light bulbs, while cautioning them not to max out their credit cards.
At times, having Obama in the Oval Office is like having a really powerful Dr. Phil around.
But lately, Obamas tsk-tsking has gotten him into some trouble. At the very moment hes trying to recover his declining popularity and revive his party heading into the November elections, even some Democrats worry that he risks coming off not as the inspirational figure who galvanized the electorate in 2008 but as the embodiment of a dour Democrat that turns off some voters.
Dee Dee Myers, a former White House press secretary under President Bill Clinton, pointed out that, while Obama has long promised to tell people the truth even when it hurts, he needs to strike a balance.
"Part of what people liked about him during the campaign is that he talks to the American people like theyre grown-ups -- you dont have to pretend that you can eat ice cream and lose weight in order to be president," Myers said. "He did that during the campaign by appealing to hope. ... I think little of that has been lost."
Added Democratic strategist Paul Begala, another Clinton veteran, "You got to be careful about that stuff, or you become a scold."
Obama drew criticism for his unusual finger-wagging at Supreme Court justices as they sat in the House chamber during his State of the Union address. He also used the speech to once again press Congress to go public with its earmarks. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Obamas fellow Democrat, recently told him to "lay off Las Vegas" when Obama urged fiscal restraint by explaining, "You dont blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when youre trying to save for college."
The White House says Obamas admonitions, whether to the Supreme Court about campaign finance law or to Congress about pork-barrel spending, are simply part of his drive to change the ways of the capital.
"A central part of the presidents vision for bringing change to Washington is fulfilling one of his earliest campaign promises: telling people not just want they want to hear but what they need to hear," said Josh Earnest, White House deputy press secretary.