Few people watch MSNBC to begin with, and even fewer watch at 3 PM EST on a Thursday afternoon. Since that network was the only television outlet to carry President Obama’s pitch for his new jobs plan in front of the Brent Spence Bridge yesterday, why did President Obama fly all the way to Ohio to deliver a speech he’s given many times before? Because, as Sasha Issenbeg documents in his new book, “Rick Perry and His Eggheads: Inside the Brainiest Political Operation in America,” politicians often get more value from positive local press coverage when they actually visit places than they do when they stay at home.
So how was the local press coverage of Obama’s visit?
As the Cincinnati Enquirer headline above shows, not good. Here is what the paper reported on the day of Obama’s visit:
Not really, say transportation experts and highway officials.
…
The bill itself contains no mention of the Brent Spence bridge, or any other specific projects. Even if the bill is passed, it’s not clear funding included in the bill for stimulus or the creation of a national infrastructure bank would ever reach the bridge.
That’s because if the point of the jobs bill is to create jobs now, then the Brent Spence Bridge may make a nice backdrop for a speech, but it’s not the best example of a shovel-ready project.
Ouch.
A follow up online poll of Enquirer readers (admittedly not scientific) shows few Ohioans are buying what Obama is selling. When last visited, 67% of the 1,300 readers who registered an opinion said that Obama’s visit did not help the effort to replace the Brent Spence Bridge.
