Poor President Obama. The guy can’t catch a break. In August he was criticized for being too removed from the debate on healthcare.  This past week, he was criticized for being too visible—after appearing on five Sunday morning news shows to talk about healthcare. Cue the barking about “overexposure.”  

Overexposure? Is that even possible in an era when millions of people have their own Facebook pages and Twitter accounts in which they share every random thought and count their worth by their number of “friends” and “followers?” (And how creepy is that?)  

Overexposure is not President Obama talking about healthcare, the economy, and Afghanistan. Overexposure is sharing online that you just stubbed your toe and you’re a fan of “America’s Got Talent.”  

McDonalds spends about $800 million a year on marketing and promotion.  I don’t hear too many people complaining about McDonalds risking overexposure.  The junk food giant has made a mathematical calculation and understands that spending $800 million on advertising helps to generate more than $22 billion in annual revenue.  That’s not overexposure, that smart business.  

Healthcare is not hamburgers, but the concept is the same.  President Obama is trying to sell his policies and his vision for America.  He’s taking advantage of the fact that—regardless of one’s opinion of what he says—when the President talks, it’s news.  I suspect that those critical of his alleged overexposure are really more concerned about the content of his message.  They might be right, but if Mr. Obama doesn’t succeed, it won’t be because of “overexposure.”  

When we work with clients on marketing or communications, they are usually interested in as much exposure as they can possibly get.   That’s a characteristic they share with practically every President of the last fifty years.