Hotline After Dark -- An Affair To Remember

"World News" previewed Pres. Obama's press conference. "Evening News" previewed Obama's press conference. "Nightly News" led with Treas. Sec. Tim Geithner and Fed Chair Ben Bernanke asking Congress for new powers to regulate financial companies.

The reviews of Obama's second press conference are in, with much of the analysis also focusing on the performance of the press.

Bill Bennett: "There is a conservative strain of thinking that says the press is in love with Barack Obama. Not tonight. He went through a murderer's row. ... Most of what he did tonight, in response to very sharp, pointed questions, was to give that same speech. And I don't think it cut. I do not think he had a good night" (CNN, 3/24).

Washington Post's Robinson: "I think they have to be pretty exalted at the White House this evening in the sense that he got basically as much time as he wanted without a lot of serious specific challenge from the press corps to be able to set out his basic budget message" ("Rachel Maddow Show," MSNBC, 3/24).

FNC's O'Reilly: "While the president was authoritative tonight, he was also dull and repetitive. Only a few times did he connect with the folks. ... Most of the time President Obama gave long-winded answers and he evaded direct questions" ("O'Reilly Factor," 3/24).

More after the jump.

(KATHERINE LEHR)

CNN's J. King: "The diversity on who he called on was quite interesting. ... Univision, Ebony magazine, Stars and Stripes -- three organizations not normally called on at a prime time White House news conference. That's a deliberate choice by the White House to reach out politically. ... The words Iraq were never spoken. There are more than 140,000 troops there. The war hit the six-year anniversary this past week. He never mentioned the word Afghanistan. There are thousands of U.S. troops there. He never mentioned Osama bin Laden. He never mentioned terrorism. You want to talk about a sea change from George W. Bush to Barack Obama, the tone, the tenor and the lexicon of that news conference was striking" (3/24).

FBN's Glick: "It was not a great night for them. I mean, there's some speculation, obviously, that they wanted it to be dull and dry and without any fanfare. I thought it was very interesting who he chose to call on, who he chose not to call on. ... Not one business organization. And I thought the questions, frankly, were a lot of softballs, with a handful of decent questions. But it was far too easy for him" ("Hannity," FNC, 3/24).

WH CoS Rahm Emanuel: "There were other questions on other topics that could have been asked that obviously we do preparation. But the reason the questions were so focused on the economy is because that's the number one focus for the American people and that's the number one focus for the president."

Emanuel, asked if Obama can be overexposed: "The American people expect the president to talk to them, walk them through his thinking ... through this process of this troubled time. ... There have been greater audiences for the shows that he's been on to answer the questions, because these are the questions the American people are asking around their kitchen table. ... I think they're very engaged in this conversation. They'll make a decision if they think it's too much" ("LKL," CNN, 3/24).

Robinson: "He's spent a lot of time ... this evening, projecting that image or reality of not rashness, persistent, we have to be patient, this is going to take a while. I want everybody to know we're headed in a constructive direction. That was a big message. And ... he came back to it again and again" ("Rachel Maddow Show," MSNBC, 3/24).

Karl Rove: "He was mailing it in ... going over the talking points, no emotion, no passion, no real connection. He was looking for a chance to say energy and green jobs, got to invest in education and control health care costs, and that's all he really wanted to drive home tonight" ("O'Reilly Factor," FNC, 3/24).

MSNBC's Matthews: "I thought he was trying to teach us tonight. I thought the reporters were basically zombies out there tonight. They were not exactly exhilarating company tonight for him. ... I don't think the ratings will be that great tonight. ... This was not exciting" ("Countdown," 3/24).

THE POWER OF TWO

Another big topic discussed last night was Geithner and Bernanke calling on Congress to grant new powers to the Treasury Dept. to regulate large financial companies like AIG.

FNC's Cameron: "Critics now say it is likely to run into questions about its constitutionality, particularly because the government would be involved in going after private property and could tread on privacy issues protected by the constitution. Also, if the government were to intervene on a private company, it would devalue that company in many minds, and that could constitute what's referred to as a taking, something that's also prohibited under the constitution. ... Harry Truman once tried to seize the steel industry and order it to put out more military equipment, more war production. He was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court and told he could not do it" ("Special Report," 3/24).

CNN's Todd, on the chances of Congress will give the admin. this power: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi said this afternoon that she supports this plan. But some key House leaders on both sides are wondering openly how it's going to work. Republican leader John Boehner and Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer both said today this is a lot of money and a lot of power in the hands of one individual. That person is probably going to be some kind of a receiver. They said they need to look at this more carefully. They might be able to do that soon, because a Treasury official told me the new legislation may make it to Congress as early as tomorrow" ("Situation Room," 3/24).

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ): "We've heard the story before under the prior secretary of Treasury, where he said he had a plan, it is the only plan, and that plan will work. ... I guess he's suggesting that it's something to do with will that has to get it done. No. I think it really has to get down to what's in the weeds of the plan and whether the plans are actually good ideas from day one" ("1600," MSNBC, 3/24).

UCLA prof. Lynn Stout: "What they seem to be discussing is what they would need to do to step in and clean up the mess when you get a disaster of the AIG sort. ... I would prefer to see a little bit more discussion about how you can prevent these disasters from occurring in the first place" ("NewsHour," PBS, 3/24).

Fortune's Easton: "This is an idea that's been around for at least a year. Hank Paulson, the former treasury secretary under Bush, was proposing it. ... Yes, there should be a debate, and it shouldn't be rammed through, which I think the White House is trying to do with a lot of this stuff. ... When you say unprecedented, it's not that much different than the FDIC can go in and take over banks and sell off those assets. ... It's definitely an idea worth looking at. I don't think it is a Geithner power grab" ("Special Report," FNC, 3/24).

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN): "The concern many House Republicans have of what would amount to, really, an extraordinary power grab by the federal government. ... What institutions are we really talking about? ... I want to give the administration's proposal a fair shake here. But what we understand so far is that the administration is looking for the authority to come in in a preemptive way and be able to take over non-banking institutions, hedge funds and the like when there's a threat of systemic risk. ... Before you grant that kind of expansive authority to the Treasury Department, we're going to need to understand what the parameters of that are" ("Situation Room," CNN, 3/24).