“Today, a prominent American man will stand before an attentive crowd and outline his initiatives for the year ahead. His words will spawn a torrent of commentary and cause many to re-evaluate their own plans for the next year,” The Oregonian Editorial Board writes for The Oregonian. “Yes, when Steve Jobs tells the Apple apostles about his plans for a new tablet computer, it will be the event of the technology year. Oh, and the president of the United States will give his State of the Union speech this evening.”
“The coincidental synchronization between Jobs’ address to a San Francisco audience and Barack Obama’s address to the American people provides an occasion for an instructive comparison,” The Oregonian Editorial Board writes.
“One year into Obama’s presidency, it’s safe to predict that his words will be greeted with less over-the-top enthusiasm than those uttered by Jobs. There’s a Mosaic quality to Jobs’ choreographed presentations, as he descends from the mountaintop to address the faithful. This year, the simile is even more apt, as he will deliver a tablet or two,” The Oregonian Editorial Board writes. “Obama, if anything, is overexposed. One day he is in Copenhagen, the next Youngstown. He sits down with Grist magazine and with David Letterman. There is, for a sentient American citizen, no escaping the thoughts of the president. Perhaps a little more mystery — or at least, the heads-down pursuit of a concrete, achievable goal — would serve his purposes well.”
“Here’s another telling contrast between the management styles of these two American leaders: Obama’s White House today is expected to discuss terms of a partial, three-year freeze on discretionary spending by the government, apparently in response to the rising popular concern about the federal deficit and mounting debt,” The Oregonian Editorial Board writes. “But only a year ago, the president told America that ‘only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe.'”
“Granted, conditions change with the times, but you won’t hear such head-snapping reversals from Apple,” The Oregonian Editorial Board writes. “Apple is very good about exuding a sense of certainty and resolve, even when internal debates are raging. It’s good at sending a steady signal and about keeping partners in line and on message. Nothing could be less like the ‘Team of Rivals’ style that Obama has embraced.”
Read more in The Oregonian Editorial Board’s full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: On a related note, FOXNews.com is conducting a poll asking, “Which Do You Care About More: Apple Tablet Announcement or the State of the Union?”
Current tallies:
41% – Apple, of course! Invention and innovation will fix America. Wake up, Mr. President.
39% – Neither, of course! Just another gadget, just another Obama speech. Maybe I’ll go see Avatar — again!
13% – Both, of course! This might be technology that changes our lives, and I want to know what Obama has up his sleeve this time.
5% – Obama, of course! This is about fixing America — who cares about yet another expensive gadget.
2% – Other.
Vote here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]