The Hollywood Reporter’s calling it “yet another unconventional media move for the president.” You might call it a frivolous distraction for a POTUS faced with an anemic economy, an angry electorate and a foreign policy more or less embodied by the feckless efforts to “degrade and ultimately defeat” ISIS.
While he’s in Alaska flipping the late-second term bird to John Boehner and the Ohio delegation by purging Mt. McKinley of its Dead White Male name of shame, President Obama is going to film an appearance on Running Wild with Bear Grylls. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Obama and the host “will venture through the Alaskan wilderness for a special edition of the unscripted adventure series to air later this year.”
It would be fun to see how much that little logistical feat will cost taxpayers. Officially, Obama’s in Alaska to “observe the effects of climate change on the area.” But it’s just another perk of being POTUS – you get to be photographed in your serious face while pondering a fictional problem, then you get to be yourself on a reality show.
Obama’s day job (and a serious golf addiction) have kept this kind of “just because I can” TV stunts to a minimum. But that hasn’t been the case for his wife, who never seems to miss a chance to soak up fawning on-screen adoration. In addition to talk shows and gauzy morning “news” programs, Michelle Obama has appeared on Parks & Recreation, Shark Tank, iCarly, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Lil Bub’s Big Show. In the first six years of the Obama administration, Michelle had already done 56 more TV appearances than Laura Bush did in all eight years of her husband’s presidency. Yes, she has an agenda to promote. But Mrs. Bush had literacy.
The Obamas are clearly at home with their biggest fans in New York and L.A. And now in the Alaskan wilderness. By the way, Mt. McKinley is now going to be known as “Denali,” which supposedly means “High One.” Kinda fitting, no?
