the buzz log

There is a Barack Obama protest in the works, and it's not on Capitol Hill.

Tinseltown has long been seen or accused of being the liberal glitterati, but the Hollywood Reporter says that TV network suits haven't been happy with how chatty the president has been, especially on primetime.

Sure, arguably that last press conference was not the White House's idea, and No. 44 just had to show up to the 100th day party that the media had been planning for so long. But come on—three in three months? Even Bill Clinton, who can really talk your ear off, kept it down to two in four years.

Obama's primetime penchant has supposedly cost ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox about $30 million in ad revenue. Fox decided enough was enough this last outing, and stuck to airing "Lie to Me," and won Wednesday night ratings...as it usually does. 

Sure, the president has worked up lots of buzz and ratings for recent appearances on "The Tonight Show" and "60 Minutes." But we're talking a KFC ad that you can never get back again. (Well, until the next day.) And don't bring up civic responsibilities about educating a well-informed republic, and whether an episode of "Two and a Half Men" has more lasting meaning than the knowledge that swine flu should really be called H1N1. That is what the Internet is for.

But really, rather than entertaining ideas of a revolt that they're probably too scared to execute just yet, network execs should extend a hand to Obama and get him to mention a few of his favorite items, and then charge advertisers for it. Consider this:

• Ford Escape hybrid sales are rocking because team Obama drives them.
• The president has shattered records in license plates.
• His autobiographies paid off the family student loans—and his mention of one book title fueled global sales. Hello, bookseller ads.
• That elusive youth audience? They trick out in his gear.
• For a brief moment, he even saved newspapers.

And then if the execs could get the First Lady to amble behind the podium during his speech? Here come the clothing retail dollars.

This isn't a new idea. "Saturday Night Live" gave Republican rival John McCain one of his finest comic moments as a QVC pitchman. Come on, networks, extend a hand to the president. The only fist you'll need to make is over all those dollars that'll fall into your hands.