Are we seriously considering otherwise? Obviously the PR department managed it. Obama seems pretty lighthearted, so he has a bit of leeway in responding wittily, but much of it has to be planned.

Every high-profile AMA is a carefully crafted PR stunt.

And?

I’m really not sure what you expect. The President has a busy schedule, plus (as the guy running for office) enough money to hire people to do stuff for him.

We all nearly always plan what we say and do. The stakes might not be quite so high for us most of the time – but the principle behind it is the same.

The only difference is that the President can afford people whom he can delegate some of that planning to. It’s very simply not possible to do this any other way.

Well, this wasn't going to be a forum to influence future policy. I think it's pretty cool that this happened - even now my Mom might know what the "AMA" stands for.

And great timing to do it during the RNC and steal some buzz away.

Aren't they all?