Alternate headline: “Unctuous man finds true calling.” I felt sorry for him when I saw this last night, partly because he doesn’t look well — that suit and tie seem too big — and partly because, whatever you think of him, it’s too bad to see the office reduced to a form of super-celebrity. (Although in fairness, thanks to The One, we’re well down that path already.) I’m not sure why he did it. Did his pal Spielberg talk him into it to goose pre-Oscar buzz for “Lincoln,” because the two of them inexplicably still need more personal validation at this point in their careers? Or did he just want to stare out at a room of A-list liberals applauding rapturously for him? I almost wish they had Jack Nicholson walk out there with him to exchange some inane comic banter, just two randy ol’ alpha males of Hollywood royalty sending a thrill through the crowd by their mere presence. Bleh.

It’s nice to know at least that Obama has a career track ahead of him after 2016. Exit question: Is there more than meets the eye to this bit of stuntcasting? The sonorous blather about compromise is a nice talking point for Democrats ahead of the debt-ceiling standoff, even as they categorically refuse to compromise on meaningful spending cuts and entitlement reform.