In President Barack Obama’s news conference on April 29, 2009, New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny asked what “surprised” Obama the most, what “enchanted” Obama the most, what “humbled” Obama the most, and what “troubled” Obama the most. This was soon known as the “enchanted” question—a soft question given by the press to a politician.
 
The blog Ace of Spades HQ used the term “Enchanted Media (TM)” to describe a media “enchanted” with the politician it’s supposed to be asking tough questions and demanding straight answers from.
 
 
Ace of Spades HQ
Dennis Miller: We’re Living In Odd Times When Miss California Gets Tougher Questions Than the President
But of course. She, like Joe the Plumber before her, needs to be “vetted.”
 
Obama doesn’t.
 
That quote was from O’Reilly five minutes ago; no link or vid.
 
Here’s one of Obama’s tough questions.
(...)
Posted by: Ace at 08:45 PM (April 29, 2009—ed.)
   
Chicago (IL) Tribune
Surprised, enchanted, humbled and troubled: Barack in his own words
April 30, 2009
(...)
During his news conference, President Barack Obama was asked by reporter Jeff Zeleny of The New York Times a four-part question:
 
What has surprised him about the office, enchanted him, humbled him and troubled him the most?
 
Excerpts from Obama’s answer, according to a transcript:
 
OK. Surprised. I am surprised compared to where I started, when we first announced for this race, by the number of critical issues that appear to be coming to a head all at the same time ...
   
Troubled? I’d say less troubled, but, you know, sobered by the fact that change in Washington comes slow. That there is still a certain quotient of political posturing and bickering that takes place even when we’re in the middle of really big crises ...
 
Enchanted? Enchanted. I will tell you that when I—when I meet our servicemen and women, enchanted is probably not the word I would use. But I am so profoundly impressed and grateful to them for what they do ...
 
Humbled by the—humbled by the fact that the presidency is extraordinarily powerful, but we are just part of a much broader tapestry of American life, and there are a lot of different power centers. And so I can’t just press a button and suddenly have the bankers do exactly what I want or, you know, turn on a switch and suddenly, you know, Congress falls in line ...
 
And I’m humbled, last, by the American people who have shown extraordinary patience and I think a recognition that we’re not going to solve all of these problems overnight.
     
The Oval
Apr 30, 2009
Your thoughts on the ‘enchanted’ question for Obama?
The most memorable question from last night’s news conference came from Jeff Zeleny of The New York Times, who asked President Obama what has most surprised, enchanted, humbled and troubled him while on the job.
 
Obama joked about the question: “Let me write this down ... enchanted? Nice.” He then went on to discuss his surprise at the workload, the trouble with partisanship, his gratitude to those in military service and how humbling it has been to learn that the presidency is only one of many “power centers.”
 
By the way, Obama—like many who hang around the White House—knows and likes Zeleny. A Nebraska Cornhusker, Zeleny covered Obama’s early Senate years for the Chicago Tribune before moving to the Times.
 
Ace of Spades HQ
America: Where powerful political leaders are protected by the Enchanted Media (TM), and ordinary citizens are “vetted.”
(...)
Posted by: Ace at 01:53 PM (April 30, 2009—ed.)
 
Ace of Spades HQ
The Enchanted Media (TM) often knocks the blogosphere as catering to one particular viewpoint, and providing our readers only with stories they like, while avoiding those that might discomfit them.
(...)
Posted by: Ace at 06:52 PM (April 30, 2009—ed.)