President Less Popular Than Howie Mandel, Despite Soul Patch

Some of the networks were said to be annoyed that the White House had timed the Oval Office address during the May Sweeps, that critical time in the broadcast year when the networks and their affiliates fight for ratings.

So the President of the United States announcing the militarization of our southern border is not exciting enough for prime time tv. Less exciting than the season finale of “Prison Break,” anyway. If he was actually a popular president, things might be different. Or if a) he was involved in a sex scandal or b) it was 1973.

We’ll probably watch the damn speech, in case he throws out something weird and unexpected, like the deployment of Park Rangers along the Canadian border or trained and deputized Polar Bears guarding the Bering Strait (how cute would that be!). Still, though — preempting the two-hour “Deal or No Deal” special? He’ll be at 20% by Tuesday.

Networks Grapple With Presidential Speech Timing [Reuters via WP]

READ MORE: controversy, george w. bush, immigration, speeches, tv