At least he didn't know who Snookie was...

I've come to the conclusion that if president Obama would have rescued a baby from a burning building, he'd be criticized for not putting out the fire first. The president made an appearance on the ABC daytime show, The View, which aired Thursday. an appearance which drew criticism from the usual sources.

I did not set aside any time to watch the show, but I've heard reports that the president was not pressed on many of tough issues facing the country. Rather, he spent most of the time fielding questions on his knowledge of pop culture.

Critics say that an appearance like this diminishes the integrity of the presidency. I say that while I had no interest in seeing him in type of interview, we have to understand that in the year 2010, the American public is more concerned with Mel Gibson's tirade than they are with the war in Afghanistan, sad as that may be. This president understands that and did use at least some of the time to explain where we are as a nation, going forward.

This was not intended to be an impromptu State of the Union address. Obama understands the celebrity factor in being our first black president, as well as being one of our youngest presidents since JFK. I don't think, for one minute, that he's lost sight of our nation's "bigger problems."

I will become a little concerned, however, if Obama agrees to replace Simon or Ellen as a judge on American Idol.