If you didn’t catch him giving out his March Madness picks on ESPN, trading quips on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno or looking appropriately grave during his in-depth 60 Minutes interview, you might have been among the thirty million who watched Barack Obama’s second press conference.

During the first sixty-odd days of his reign as President of the United States, Obama has been on almost every television channel at least once. You could build a respectable video library with clips of his appearances found on YouTube alone.

We now know that this national leader thinks riding on Air Force One is “cool,” enjoys a game of basketball whenever he can get a chance and hopes to soon take on the health care problems of the country. We know who he’s rooting for in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, that he’s not a great bowler and that he pretty much has his hands full dealing with the AIG bonuses (and their repercussions).

The President of the United States is often more of a title or a symbol than an actual man. Some might easily recall that George Washington once called Mount Vernon home, but most of us have no idea if he played or even enjoyed any sort of sporting activity. The President, even the office of the President, has always been somewhat shrouded in mystery - hidden behind a wall of political maneuvering and legalities that are hard to pin down.

But after only two months in office, Barack Obama (the newest president) has practically become a regular fixture on prime time TV. His highly candid, open approach to the presidency has even been regarded as off-putting or inappropriate by some (Obama ‘Overexposed’: The Media’s New New Obsession). Do tournament brackets, late night talk shows and gossip about secret service agents somehow reduce the dignity of the office itself? Has Barack Obama the man started to overshadow that vague unknowable called The Presidency?

In 1933, during the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt began a series of fireside chats on the radio, then in its broadcasting heyday. He ended up hosting thirty chats in all, informal addresses to the nation wherein he spoke of his policies and plans for the country. The fireside chats were incredibly popular each time they aired. After FDR set this precedent, every single succeeding president has delivered nationally-broadcast addresses to the United States during his time in office.

Imagine how it felt, that very first time, when FDR spoke into the mic and around the country in 1933. Imagine how amazing a thing it truly is for the man at the helm of the country to sit down and speak to each of us, on our own terms. Call it politics (because, isn’t everything), call it a maneuver, call it a clever attempt to gain support. But also call it great - because that’s what it is.

At the end of the day, the point is not that there is debate surrounding the manner in which Barack Obama approaches the public through casual TV appearances. The point is that we get to debate such a thing at all…and that we have the sort of president who’s willing to put himself out there enough for us to do so.