Honor of the presidency "Lost" on President Obama

Some quick facts about the recent State of the Union/Lost scheduling issue (full disclosure: I am a huge Lost fan):

• The Lost season premiere is scheduled for February 2, 2010.
• The State of the Union address is traditionally given at the end of January, after Congress returns from its winter recess.
• There were rumors that the White House would push the address back to February 2, in order to allow for the President's health care reform package to pass Congress beforehand.
• Enraged Lost fans flooded ABC with complaints that the speech would interfere with Lost's season premiere.
• The White House assured Lost fans that the President would not "preempt" their beloved show on February 2.

Many of you may be thinking, "President Obama is smart.  He does not want to anger a large voting bloc by pushing off their show's season premiere.  What's the big deal here?"

Here is the big deal, and here is how President Obama shamed the sacred office he holds.  There are terrible crises in the world today: genocide, AIDS, corruption, the economy, war, famine, earthquakes et al.  The world looks to the United States for the lion's share of help in solving all of those problems.  The State of the Union is the President's opportunity to outline his plan for dealing with many pressing issues to the entire country, and much of the world.  The assurance by the White House that the State of the Union will not conflict with Lost is sending a clear message: The world of fantasy is more important than the world of reality.  How else to interpret press secretary Robert Gibbs' statement of, "I don't foresee a scenario in which millions of people who hope to finally get some conclusion with Lost are preempted by the president"?  Mr. Gibbs should have responded, "I understand that there are many Americans who are eager to begin to have closure with Lost.  While the President appreciates the desire to escape the world of reality from time to time with a movie or TV show, he also understands that the world's problems are too important to be beholden to a television show.  To paraphrase Marie Antoinette, 'Let them DVR it.' "

Instead, Robert Gibbs shamed the White House, and President Obama shamed the presidency.  In their quest to be loved by all (a characteristic nearly monopolized by liberals), they tried to appear as the "cool" teacher, the one who tries to endear himself to his students by acting like them, instead of acting like an adult.  A teacher's job is not to commiserate with students' frustrations when they have their priorities out of order.  It is to set his students' priorities straight, to explain to them what is important in life, and what is not. 

As one who has cast himself as America's Teacher-President [see a) his professorial-style speeches, and b) the Gates-Crowley affair "teachable moment" et al], President Obama not only missed an opportunity to set Americans' priorities straight, he also dishonored the highest office in the land. 

He should have placed the World 6 Billion ahead of the Oceanic 6.