Obama and Me: Our First Time - Updated: More Newness

Update: I've posted additional commentary, video, and photos at Jay Allbritton's blog, Ice Station Tango. We will also dissect the press conference further, and talk about the rest of the week's news, on Unusable Signal tonight. The show starts at 11pm EDT.





AOL has already gotten 8 wonky paragraphs out of me about last night's press conference. Now, it's my turn. This one is for me.

You see, last night was historic for more than one person. I know, I know, Barack this, Obama that, but it was also my first prime time news conference. I'm sure President Obama would have liked to have kept our shared nervousness a secret, but some jerk photographer managed to catch our secret wave.



Sure, Barack did well, letting the country know he was listening, and letting the Republicans know he'd be there whenever they decided to catch up with the rest of us.

But I think I also did pretty well. Since nobody else will, I'd like to rattle off a list of my accomplishments.

1 - Repeatedly wandered into camera view like Forest Gump: This is important, because people think you're weird if you just Photoshop yourself in. A lot of my friends told me they saw me, but apparently, the network cameramen kept just missing my krumping demonstrations. Here's a clip of David Axelrod on Rachel Maddow. See if you recognize the guy behind Axelrod at the 4:55 mark.



2 - Survived Helen Thomas: It was such a thrill to meet the legendary White House correspondent, and I was grateful she didn't grill me into admitting to the Watergate break-in. Barack didn't fare as well, weathering a barrage of Helen's follow-ups before just moving on.



I actually screwed the picture up 3 times before I got that one. She was such a pleasure to meet.

3 - Took a Picture of a Screw: There's a story behind this, which I'll tell in more detail at my pal Jay's blog in the next couple of days. The composition didn't come out quite right, I wanted more of the White House in the background.



4 - Told Ana Marie Cox the Story of Taking a Picture of a Screw: We were stuck on line for almost an hour, in my defense.



5 - Took My Trademark "Podium POV" Shot: I love these. Sure, the Secret Service threw me off the stage at Invesco before I could get that one, but I think this is even better.



6 - Discovered How Secret Service Protects the President From Sinister Dirt-Bikers:



7 - Drank From the President's Water Glass: What? I was thirsty.



8 - Hung Out in the White House Press Briefing Room - It's a weird combination of movie theater, 747 cabin, and Star Trek set.



9 - I Got to Ask My Question - Granted, it was to Chief Obama Adviser David Axelrod, but considering the questioners were pre-selected, I think it was a good work-around.

I shot a bunch of video, including the Axelrod clip, but I'm having trouble converting the files. I'll have all of that up in a separate post.

It was a thrill, for sure, and I was nervous, even humbled (believe it or not) but never awestruck. I certainly felt a measure of unworthiness to be there, but there, I was, and I did my best. Thanks to those of you who joined me.

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