24-hour party people

In an interestingly headlined post about President Barack Obama's $800 billion stimulus plan, Andrew Sullivan predicted the president would roll Republicans and confound media analysts who have yet to come to terms with his political style:

Politically, as the dust settles, I suspect Obama outfoxed his opponents, again. They are playing the 24 hour news cycle game. That's all they know (ditto cable news). Obama isn't. That's why he's president. Eventually, they'll figure it out.

The argument was bolstered by a recent Gallup poll that showed, despite all of the pontificating about Obama's misguided leap into bipartisanship and a resurgent GOP, Obama still had the upper hand. The results even got former Republican lawmaker Joe Scarborough's attention.

Obama is an accomplished writer and author of two books. His political cycle seems to mimic that of his writing. There's foreshadowing, the building of suspense, sometimes dry expository; but he campaigns and governs in chapters. In the end, he makes himself the central character in the story. He has shown the 24-hour news cycle to be artificial, a self-imposed schedule to mask thin reporting and weak strategy.

The loyal opposition and the media (especially cable news) needs to adjust to the new timeline if they are going to effectively counter/cover the White House.