Obama's First Year by the Numbers

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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January 20, 2010

Obama's First Year by the Numbers

Mark Knoller compiled some interesting statistics about President Obama's first year in office.

Most striking is that he gave 158 interviews, "far more than any of his recent predecessors in their first year. Ninety of the sessions were TV interviews. Eleven were radio. The rest were newspaper and magazine. The number reflects the White House media strategy that Mr. Obama can best respond to questions in an interview setting."

He also held 42 news conferences, of which 5 were formal.

Also interesting: Obama spent all or part of 26 days over 4 trips on vacation. George W. Bush spent 69 days at his Texas ranch over 9 trips to his ranch his first year.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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January 20, 2010