Obama to Hit Sunday Talk Show Circuit

5 Sunday Appearances Raise Familiar Issue of Overexposure

As President Obama hits the airwaves -- again -- this weekend, brace for a familiar buzzword: "overexposure."

On Friday, Obama gave taped interviews for five Sunday talk shows; when they are aired, that will be the most ever for a sitting president in a single day. On Monday, he will become the first president to appear on "Late Show With David Letterman."

After the interviews concluded, ABC's George Stephanopoulos blogged about his session. "Does it frustrate you when your own supporters see racism when you don't think it exists?" Stephanopoulos said he asked the president.

In comments similar to remarks he made to the other networks, Obama replied in part: "Are there some people who don't like me because of my race? I'm sure there are. Are there some people who voted for me only because of my race? There are probably some of those too.

"The overwhelming part of the American population, I think, is right now following this debate and they are trying to figure out, is this gonna help me. Is health care going to make me better off? Now there are some who are, setting aside the issue of race, actually I think are more passionate about the idea of whether government can do anything right. And I think that that's probably the biggest driver of some of the vitriol."

The interviews come after a week in which Obama has been everywhere -- at a labor conference, on CNBC, giving an economic speech, at a health-care rally, announcing a new missile shield policy -- at a stepped-up pace.

There is some debate over whether Obama's ubiquity works. Republicans cite numbers in a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll showing that the more people hear about his health-care plan, the less they like it. They say that is evidence that Obama might not want to be out there explaining it so much.

But White House advisers firmly believe that more Obama is better. There is little question that his prospects for health-care reform appear somewhat better now than they did in August, when the president kept a lower profile and went on vacation.

The question popped up at Friday's White House briefing, to the glee of White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

"Are people going to just start tuning him out if he's out there this much?" CBS's Chip Reid asked.

Gibbs, quoting deputy press secretary Bill Burton, said it has amused press aides to find themselves "sifting through your questions of overexposure in between your interview requests."

"The American people understand the big challenges, and they want to hear from the president of the United States about the choices that we have, and the decisions that we're making and the importance of each and every thing that he's spending his time on," Gibbs said.

White House officials said they believe Obama is still in a position to persuade voters, if not members of Congress, each time he speaks about the need for health-care reform.

But Gibbs said he would not be surprised if Obama had been asked about, and discussed, other issues in the interviews: Afghanistan, missile defense policy, the economy, Iran and the upcoming Group of 20 meeting in Pittsburgh. The interviews, taped in the West Wing, are expected to last about 15 minutes each.

As Friday's briefing ended, veteran CBS reporter Mark Knoller shouted to Gibbs: "Are you overexposed, Robert?"

"I'm under-appreciated," Gibbs shot back as he walked out the door.