By Andrew Blankenship

A nationally known journalist and TV commentator saw a comparison between President Barack Obama and Kentuckian Henry Clay during a lecture Tuesday night.

Clay knew how to make deals and was always looking for a middle point, said Howard Fineman during the 32nd Annual Joe Creason Lecture. Fineman had a similar assessment of Obama.

“He’s judicious,” he said.  “He’s always looking for the balance.  He loves complexity.”

Fineman, a writer for Newsweek and a regular on MSNBC, gave the lecture in front of a crowd of more than 200 faculty, students and members of the community.

During the lecture, titled “American Politics in the World of Obama,” Fineman discussed what he believes are Obama’s strengths and weaknesses.

Fineman was mostly complimentary of Obama, saying the president is “not too small for the job,” a refutation of a common criticism heard of Obama during his presidential campaign.

Obama is comfortable in his own skin, Fineman said, and has a keen legal sensibility.

However, the president’s fondness for established credentials can lead to trouble, Fineman said.

“The real problem is the Obama people said (U.S. Treasury Secretary) Timothy Geithner, with his credentials, was the only person on the planet that can fix the economy,” he said. “They didn’t see the arrogance in that.”

Fineman spent the first five years of his career at The Courier-Journal in Louisville before moving to Washington, D.C., and spoke about his fondness for Kentucky.

“I spent the happiest years of my life here covering the state from Pikeville to Paducah,” Fineman said.

Journalism Hall of Fame

The Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame added five journalists during a ceremony on Tuesday.

The UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications Alumni Association presented the award to five people in a ceremony downtown. The Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, established in 1980, honors Kentuckians who have made significant contributions to journalism. The selection is made by a committee representing the state’s media, the UK Journalism Alumni Association and UK.

The 2009 Hall of Fame inductees include: Susan Allen, a former reporter and editor in Eastern Kentucky; Byron Crawford, the original host of “Kentucky Life” on KET and a retired columnist for The Courier-Journal of Louisville; H. Harold Davis, a newspaper color photography pioneer with The Courier-Journal; Van Vance, a retired WHAS radio and TV sports reporter; and Thomas Shelby Watson, a Kentucky broadcast news editor for The Associated Press.