In a stroke of brilliance, Obama defies easy caricature

Bill Clinton, who received a haircut on an idling Air Force One while other planes were waiting, was self-indulgent. George W. Bush, who was in the gym on a workday when a man fired a gun near the White House gates, was lazy in a frat-boyish way. His father, who romped on the lawn with his dog Millie's new puppies, was full of preppy energy and good humor, but unfocused.

While these caricatures dominated late-night comedy, they provided - to a surprising degree - a road map to their future struggles. Personality was prologue for many presidents.

Clinton went on to tell lies. George W. Bush failed to think through his policies. "Tricky Dick" Nixon engaged in a real-world conspiracy. And Ronald Reagan, whose genial, grandfatherly manner could be reassuring, failed to pay enough attention to his aides' machinations in what became the Iran-contra scandal.

So what's Barack Obama's line? There isn't one yet, and that by itself could become his line.

Obama, so far, seems to occupy a place in the popular culture beyond humor. Ridicule doesn't touch him. His personality defies easy categorization.

Of the few running gags to emerge from the Obama administration - aides not paying their taxes, Treasury officials rewarding fat-cats - the only one that pertains to the president himself is the straight-faced devotion he inspires. Obama may not actually be perfect, but so many poor souls out there think he is.

Otherwise, Obama has successfully avoided the kind of pratfalls that loom large on TV and crystallize perceptions.

Once, he got caught making an unpleasant joke comparing his bad bowling skills to the Special Olympics. But he quickly apologized and no one believes that he's habitually insensitive.

He's come off, at times, as a bit pompous and humorless - but that perception really hasn't taken hold. There was a point in the primary election campaign when Obama's opponents tried to call attention to his aloofness, but as president he has actually leveraged that same dignity-bordering-on-vanity to reinforce the idea that he stands apart from the detested politics as usual.

The best example came during his prime-time press conference last month, at which he described his "philosophy of persistence" and couldn't hide his exasperation with Washington's culture of criticism.

"I think when it comes to the banking system, you know, it was just a few days ago or weeks ago where people were certain that Secretary Geithner couldn't deliver a plan," he said. "Today the headlines all look like, 'Well, all right, there's a plan.'

"When it comes to Iran, you know, we did a video sending a message to the Iranian people and the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And some people said, well, [Iran] did not immediately say that [it's] eliminating nuclear weapons and [will] stop funding terrorism. Well, we didn't expect that. . . . We haven't immediately eliminated the influence of lobbyists in Washington. We have not immediately eliminated wasteful pork projects. And we're not immediately going to get Middle East peace. We've been in office now a little over 60 days."

Coming from some past presidents, this kind of complaining might sound self-pitying (think of Nixon or Lyndon Johnson), but Obama's very aloofness makes his case for him: The pity is for his critics.

Obama should be able to continue to float above the fray - defying those who want to laugh with him, or at him - as long as he can maintain his air of persistence.

The president's genius so far has been in casting his program as a pragmatic response to current emergencies and longer-term threats. His calm, serious manner, magnified by his intelligence and command over the issues, reinforces the perception of a diligent public servant at work.

There may be vanity behind it, or stubbornness, or twisting of the facts, or any of the other qualities that marked his recent predecessors. But so far, Obama has succeeded in casting himself as the ultimate straight man in American politics.

Peter S. Canellos is the Globe's Washington bureau chief. National Perspective is his weekly analysis of events in the capital and beyond. He can be reached at canellos@globe.com