World Leaders Remark on Michael Jackson's Death, But Why Nothing Yet From Obama?

An interesting development in the MJ story here: Barack Obama has not yet released a statement regarding Michael Jackson‘s death.  He’s a busy man, with more important things to do, yes, but he has many staff members to knock out these sorts of tasks, and the precedent of other presidents would suggest that such a high-caliber death deserves a statement of appreciation and condolence.  After all, Michael Jackson is the most famous person to die this decade.  He was the most recognized and beloved figure in the world in his heyday, and his global luminosity had probably never been matched until, well, Barack Obama himself.

But Michael Jackson also lived a life that was at best weird and at worst perverted and pedophilic.  Other world leaders have begun weighing in, and this isn’t the first time a president has had to address a controversial death…  

Britain’s PM Gordon Brown said this, through a spokesman:

“This is very sad news for the millions of Michael Jackson fans in Britain and around the world.

“The prime minister’s thoughts are with Michael Jackson’s family at this time.”

Also:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called it “lamentable news,” though he criticized the media for giving it so much attention. Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who had met Jackson, said: “We lost a hero of the world.”

“I don’t think anyone can be indifferent to Michael Jackson, my husband included,” French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy told RTL radio in France. “I will enormously miss his voice, his songs and his presence in our world,” she said.

Nelson Mandela also gave his condolences, as did half the Japanese government.

“I feel sad as I had watched him since he was a member of Jackson Five,” Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Tsutomu Sato, 57, told reporters.

“With a lot of popular songs, he built a generation,” said Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada, 53.

Megastar passings in the past have usually elicited careful presidential statements that avoid the tainted elements of celebrity life:

When Presidents Carter and Clinton issued their statements marking the passing of, respectively, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, they glossed over the entertainers’ flaws. Carter’s statement neatly avoided the last decade and change of the King’s career, instead recalling when, “More than 20 years ago, he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled.” And the statement on Sinatra made no mention of his famous dalliances with women, and made men.

Suggests one editor:

“If you’re going to say anything, you remember the good, it’s like a eulogy. You’re under no requirement to haul out the dirty laundry in a eulogy.”