I hear what you say.
But those words he spoke did not do me any good, nor could they. Flowery political speechmaking is an art I have little use for. I prefer to see the president as the one who manages the executive branch of the government.
And no one can deny the benefit to the president. At the very least, these events represent a conflict of interests for him.
On the other hand, if it can get TB to say something nice about Obama, how can I object?