Barack Obama isn’t happy that he’s perceived as cold and aloof, and he knows exactly who’s at fault for that perception.  No, it’s not himself, silly.  Obama blames a group that has obviously disliked him from the start … the media:

“You know, the truth is, actually, when it comes to Congress, the issue is not personal relationships. My suspicion is that this whole critique has to do with the fact that I don’t go to a lot of Washington parties.

“And as a consequence, the Washington press corps maybe just doesn’t feel like I’m in the mix enough with them, and they figure, well, if I’m not spending time with them, I must be cold and aloof.”

Andrew Malcolm notes that Obama claims not to do the “social scene” because he and his wife are busy with their daughters, and thinks Obama has a point.  He seemed awfully busy last week, for instance:

On Thursday, for example, Obama began the day with office work, then flew two hours south for a 13-minute speech at Disney World. Then he flew two hours back north to New York City for speeches at four Manhattan political fundraisers, including a show at the Apollo and a party at Spike Lee’s place.

After another hour flight on Air Force One and 10 minutes in a Marine helicopter, the president returned to the White House shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.

And Andrew also notes all the ways in which the media causes the appearance of being cold and aloof:

A major challenge in Obama’s billion-dollar bid for a renewed lease on the White House and four more years to drive his progressive spending agenda is his image as an aloof Harvard elitist out of touch with ordinary citizens, much like 18th century French royalty.

One who golfs during wartime, stages frequent lavish celeb parties while citizens suffer high unemployment and foreclosure rates and vacations luxuriously on distant islands at the drop of a 747-boarding ramp. During last month’s holidays, Obama’s White House got by with only 37 Christmas trees.

With one highly-publicized exception last summer, Obama’s golfing partners and basketball buddies are almost always close friends or staff, an opportunity other chief executives have used for outreach bonding and socializing to ease everyday political cooperation and deals.

It took Obama 18 months, for instance, to invite the Senate opposition leader for an Oval Office coffee, a simple social gesture that most presidents accomplish their first week in office. Intentionally or not, even one of Obama’s favorite public postures (see White House photo above) gives off a sense of aloofness or arrogance. Watch for this gaze also as he reads the teleprompter Tuesday evening.

You know the pose:

Yeah, it’s that doggone media that makes Obama appear cold and aloof …

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