Matt Lauer spent a fair amount of time questioning George Bush about his popularity and the public's perception of him -- issues that Bush pretty much just brushed off. This is a man who knows who he is and what motivates him and recognizes that others are entitled to their opinions -- opinions he really doesn't have much control over. He said something very wise about if you're chasing popularity then you're just chasing a moment in time.
I understand our society's fixation on image and popularity, but I think that fixation is largely manufactured by the media and other celebrities. Matt Lauer is basically in the business of being Matt Lauer -- his job is to report the news and host the Today show, but his success now comes from his personal brand and being popular with his viewers. Same goes for Katie Couric, other news figures, and all of the celebrity figures of our culture. These are people who must maintain a certain image and in interviews such as Matt Lauer's with George Bush, their obsession with image really comes through. In watching that interview, it seemed to me that Lauer was really surprised at Bush's lack of concern for how people view him. We should all be more like that -- we should all live our lives according to our values and principles and understand that if we do that, it really doesn't matter what other people think of us.
There's your PSA for today. The more you know!
Matt Lauer is reasonably suited for a probe into the comlex and interesting lives of Brittany Spears and Pink but I find it insulting that W had to sit in the chair opposite him and respond to his inane line of questioning.
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