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President Obama 'The Most Famous Living Person On Earth''

January 24, 2009

Obama called 'the most famous living person on Earth'' on Larry King Live
Can he live up to messiah-like expectations?

by staff writer

WASHINGTON, D.C. (RushPRnews) 01/25/09 -- Dee Dee Myers, former press secretary for U.S. President Bill Clinton and now a political commentator on TV and in print, said something the other day on CNN's "Larry King Live" show that needs amplification.

So let me repeat what she said here.

King and Paul Begala and Dee Dee were sitting around the studio table at CNN headquarters here in Washington and chatting about Obama's amazing rise to power, and his amazing charisma. At one point in the discussion, Myers said": "Obama is the most famous living person on the face of the Earth!"

She really said that, and even Larry King remarked on what she said, and she repeated it. Let me repeat it again here: "Obama is the most famous living person on the face of the Earth."

It's true. But what does it mean? Are the messiah-like expectations that Americans and their fellow Earthlings have for Obama going to put a strain on his relationship with the media, and by extension world leaders? Or will this global charisma help him to heal the world?


Dee Dee Meyers is contributing editor for "Vanity Fair" magazine and the bestselling author of "Why Women Should Rule the World." She served as White House press secretary during Bill Clinton's first term.

In the transcript of the CNN show, made available to RushPRnews for this exclusive report, King asked Begala what he thought of President Obama.

BEGALA: "He obviously has a great intellect. And he has a terrific capacity to persuade. Harry Truman said the president's most important is the power to persuade. This president has that in abundance. But what I think he has that's most important is the ability to integrate.

This is what Bill Clinton had. Obama's mother was a cultural anthropologist. Her whole professional life was learning about other people who were very different from her and understanding them and adopting -- So this is what he does, right? "

BEGALA CONTNUED: "His life has been unique, but now his appeal is universal. My grandfather wasn't a Kenyan goat herder. And yet, I relate to him, because my grandmother was an immigrant. She was a maid. All across America, he's found a way to integrate all of these experiences, because he can't know enough himself. He can't have lived enough himself. So he has to be able to integrate from all sides.
That's probably his greatest strength."

And here where the conversation got interesting. Myers said, well, read the transcript here:

MYERS: "Paul makes an interesting point, which is regardless of the fact that your life has been different than his, you feel like you can relate to him. I think he's almost indisputably the most famous living person ever on the face of the planet, because of technology partly, but because of this appeal that's really hard to put your finger on.
What is it about him? Why are people all over the world, not just in the United States, turning out to see him sworn in? All over the globe paying attention to this. There's something about him that transcends this particular culture and this particular moment."

LARRY KING: "The most famous person ever in the history? More than Jesus?"

MYERS: "Living person."

KING: "Oh, living person."

BEGALA: There was Mohammed Ali, the boxer. President Clinton is still beloved. I was in Nigeria a week ago, and the street that the airport is on in Abuja, the capital, is named after Bill Clinton. You get to the end of Bill Clinton Avenue, there's the biggest billboard you ever say of Barack Obama and it says, "the whole world supports Obama." It made me so proud to be an American."

So there you have it. Dee Dee Myers calls Barack Obama "the most famous living person on Earth -- ever!"

True or False? What's your take on all this?

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