How Obama can solve his image problem

In the midst of the country's worst debt crisis in recent memory, we discover -- according to the Washington Post -- that the White House is divided on how to portray Obama.

The newspaper says there is an internal battle among the president's advisers over whether to picture him as a "central player" trying to forge a deal with Congress or a cool "above the fray observer."

The problem, according to the newspaper: His advisers can't get their stories straight. The president's long time friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett told a wire service that the president was working so hard he was "getting absolutely no sleep," while his press secretary was telling reporters the president was "well rested and focused."

Excuse me for thinking the president's people had more to do than check the president's sleep patterns and no president is well served by such efforts but.. .

It took me back to Katrina and FEMA's head man Michael --"Brownie you're doing a heck of a job" -- Brown who got advice from his PR people to roll up his sleeves during TV interviews so people would think he was working hard.

Here's a free tip to the President's aides: how people regard the president will depend on how this crisis comes out. Good policy always trumps bad public relations and the best PR can't trump bad policy.

Whether or not the president is sleeping well won't be a factor in his reelection -- that will depend on what he does while awake.