Watching Bush's press conferences always made me feel like things were a bit worse than was probably the case. Conversely, Obama's press conferences have the tendency to leave me thinking things are a little better than is probably strictly true. Neither is particularly good for the purposes of sensible analysis. That said, I was glad to see Obama take the podium and defend the school construction and Health IT funds in the stimulus. Expect the restoration of both. Presidents rarely defend priorities they can't secure. It was also worth noting that Obama put his measure of recovery -- and of the stimulus -- at four million jobs. A month or two ago, he was promising three-to-four million jobs. Nice to see him settle on the higher number. And lastly, I always find it disconcerting to watch Obama answer frivolous questions, be they on dog adoption or baseball, with the same tone of weary resolve and guarded intelligence he brings to Iraq or tax fairness. The dude is more machine than man.
