WASHINGTON // It is a busy week on the global stage for Barack Obama, who yesterday led a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York and tomorrow will host the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh.
But even with his jam-packed schedule of high-level meetings, not to mention yesterday's trilateral summit on Middle East peace, the US president found time for a sit down of another sort, albeit one less likely to show up in the history books: an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Equipped with an easy smile and his usual deadpan humour, Mr Obama showed little of the stresses that come with his office. He touched on some key issues, including healthcare reform and the war in Afghanistan, but it was a largely lighthearted affair for the president, who at one point poked fun at the ongoing debate over whether many of his critics are racist.
"I think it's important to realise that I was actually black before the election," Mr Obama said with a straight face as the audience and Letterman broke into laughter.
It was the first time a sitting president has appeared on the popular programme and the most recent in a wave of small-screen appearances by Mr Obama who, experts say, has been in the public eye more than any of his predecessors.
Robert Thompson, the founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, said Mr Obama is set even to outshine Ronald Reagan, the former president and Hollywood actor who relished his on-camera appearances.
"If he keeps up this pace, there's no question he becomes the most televised president," Mr Thompson said.
Since taking office, US audiences have seen their commander-in-chief in a variety of televised settings, whether it was between innings at Major League Baseball's All Star Game or visiting a burger joint with Brian Williams, the anchor of NBC's Nightly News.
Mr Obama has held four prime time press conferences and his near daily town hall meetings are a staple of cable talk shows. On Sunday it did not matter what channel Americans turned to: Mr Obama was on five separate networks as part of an unprecedented media blitz to sell his healthcare reform plan.
Democratic strategists say the frequent appearances effectively drown out the opposition.
"I think the old rules don't apply in this new age of instant and ubiquitous communication," said Tad Devine, a longtime political operative and chief political consultant to Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign. "He is the strongest messenger that [Democrats] have and the best advocate for the change he is seeking."
But appearing frequently in the spotlight also risks overexposure, according to Tim Brooks, a television historian and former executive vice president of research for Lifetime Networks. It can make the president "seem like something that is ordinarily there, something that we can ignore", he said.
Some Republicans have used Mr Obama's stream of publicity to open up new lines of attack. George Will, a prominent conservative writer who last week counted 263 public events involving the president since January, wrote in Newsweek that the media blitz is providing "CPR for the Republican Party".
"His incessant talking cannot combat what it has caused: an increasing number of Americans do not believe that he believes what he says," Mr Will wrote.
"He's been on everything but the Food Channel," quipped Lindsey Graham a South Carolina senator, who appeared on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday shortly after Mr Obama.
Spending so much time in the public view has also given Mr Obama more chances to make mistakes.
In a March appearance on NBC's The Tonight Show hosted by Jay Leno - the first time a White House occupant graced that programme - Mr Obama stumbled by comparing a bowling outing to being "like Special Olympics". The offensive comments led to a swift presidential apology.
Likewise, in one of his nationally televised press conferences, Mr Obama inserted himself into a racial controversy by saying that police "acted stupidly" when they arrested a prominent black scholar.
Just last week, as he prepared for an interview on CNBC, Mr Obama was recorded criticising the rap star Kanye West for an incident in which West grabbed a microphone from another star at the MTV Music Awards. The comments became an internet sensation, underscoring the fact that unwanted attention also comes with being the country's celebrity-in-chief.
For now the administration calculates that the rewards outweigh the risks.
Mr Obama's speech to Congress earlier this month drew 32 million viewers according to The Nielsen Company, which tracks television viewership. The performance led to a bump in Mr Obama's approval ratings, a CBS News poll showed.
The Late Show, meanwhile, averages 3.6m nightly viewers, giving Mr Obama access to a block of mainstream Americans whose support could prove crucial as he attempts to sell his agenda amid a crush of Republican opposition.
"There's an awful lot of misinformation out there that gets floated around and that's what we have to fight through," Mr Obama told Letterman, sitting in a chair normally reserved for actors and musicians. "That's why I end up having to be on the Dave Letterman show."
sstanek@thenational.aea
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
'The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window'
Director:Michael Lehmann
Stars:Kristen Bell
Rating: 1/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 290hp
Torque: 340Nm
Price: Dh155,800
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The%20specs
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The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Command%20Z
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India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
The biog
Name: Samar Frost
Born: Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: Singing, music and socialising with friends
Favourite singer: Adele
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million