Why the White House Struggles to Be Heard

[Commentary] The White House message machine has been rather clunky. President Barack Obama basically saved the auto industry, and the feds will likely turn a profit on the banking bailout that began at the end of the Bush era -- but these points have all but vanished into the ether. And President Obama might have found a way to publicize that he cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans in the much-derided stimulus bill -- a fact that fewer than one in 10 people realizes, according to a CBS/New York Times poll. A conflict-hungry news business that rarely reflects on success is partially to blame, but that's life in the big leagues. You go to war with the media you have. Despite Obama's sky-high profile, White House advisers scoff at suggestions of overexposure, saying that shrinking viewership requires the president to make multiple appearances to reach the same audience that Reagan could with a single network interview.