President Obama compared criticism of his first 100 days in office to being “a little bit like ‘American Idol’ – but everybody is Simon Cowell.”

That’s an ironic reference from the president who seems a bit more obsessed with marketing the pop culture popularity of his office than dealing handling the ever-increasing myriad of crises piling up on his desk.

In his first 100 days, President Obama has managed to spend more money, and create more debt for our country, than any president in history; he has upended decades of American foreign policy by seemingly kowtowing to dictators who have long bashed America and apologizing for America’s behavior across the world; he has set the track to pull America out of Iraq, but put us on the track to engage even further in Afghanistan; and has yet to fulfill his promises of bringing bipartisanship to Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, the president’s spin staff has made sure we know all about the adoption of the first dog; the new swing set at the White House; the garden being planted by the first lady; and even how casual the president can be, working in his shirt sleeves. President Obama has capitalized on the spin of celebrity better than any recent politician both his campaign and now his presidency seem predicated on appearances as much as action.

So if criticism seems like “American Idol,” well perhaps that’s a fitting reference.

Unfortunately, Americans need more from our president and his presidency than entertainment.

With debt, wars and economic uncertainty on the horizon we need leadership. We need a president who truly understands America’s role in the world and will rise to the responsibility of leading this country.

We don’t need an American Idol.

We need an American president.