In the headline, “binging” should be read to rhyme with “ringing,” not “cringing” – as in, making use of Microsoft’s new competitor to Google. It debuts next Wednesday (for some reason). Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer told the Wall Street Journal that Bing was chosen as the name for the new search engine because it “works globally […]
Today, in nominating Circuit Court judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court, President Obama discussed a few qualities he seeks in a justice. The “first and foremost” — a rigorous intellect — is obvious. The third — “a common touch and sense of compassion” — has been a key messaging point […]
You may recall that President Obama recently referred to certain Chrysler creditors as “speculators” because they expected more for their investment in the troubled automaker than the 29 cents on the dollar the Administration was offering. Most of those creditors have since given up their legitimate claims, rather than face continued tongue-lashings from the president. […]
Politico‘s speechwriter correspondent, Carol Lee, profiles one of the non-celebrity members of President Obama’s speechwriting staff, foreign policy wordsmith Ben Rhodes. For those of us looking to pin blame for the president’s European and Latin American remarks on Mr. Rhodes, not so fast: Some Republicans said the president’s Europe speeches showed he was there on […]
What’s with conservatives getting all bent out of shape over humor? Last week, after Wanda Sykes told a few Rush Limbaugh jokes at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, several commentators on the right tut-tutted. “He needs a good waterboarding,” she said, and she claimed “I think he was the twentieth hijacker. But he was […]
Maybe Veridian Dynamics was right after all. Last week President Obama verbally spanked Chrysler creditors who didn’t want to take the government’s offer of 29 cents for each dollar of debt they held. “Speculators,” the president called them, insisting that they were holding out for “an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout.” Despite the presidential tongue-lashing, the creditors initially […]
The Wall Street Journal turned the tables on ten college presidents for an article appearing today, asking them to complete one of the essays from their respective schools’ applications: The “applicants” were told not to exceed 500 words (though most did), and to accept no help from public-relations people or speechwriters.* Friends and family could advise […]
When President Obama requested prime network time yet again last week, it meant some TV shows got bumped. Among them, Better Off Ted, a new ABC comedy struggling for ratings. Better Off Ted is a funny look inside the fictional Veridian Dynamics, a mega-industrial company in the GE mold, but with highly questionable ethics. Each […]
Yesterday’s auto announcement from the White House highlights why it’s imperative that private-sector companies doing business with government-backed enterprises employ a well-calibrated public message strategy. In announcing that Chrysler would enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, President Obama praised various stakeholders – unions, management, creditors, etc. – for making “sacrifices” to keep the company out of court. […]
According to Nielsen, the ratings company, nearly 29 million people watched President Obama’s prime time press conference to mark his first 100 days in office. Pretty impressive. But compared with his own earlier star power, Obama’s wattage appears to be slipping. His second prime time presser, in March, drew 40.4 million people. His inaugural foray […]
April 30, 2009 – 11:29 am
Here’s a calendar-worthy event for Washingtonians and visitors planning to be in the city next weekend: Politics on Film is the first-ever film festival to award jury prizes to movies that focus on themes of politics or policy. And if you think making movies about politics and policy is sort of like dressing up an ugly […]
President Obama today urged his Cabinet members to find $100 million in savings from their departmental budgets. It’s easy to harass the president about such a miniscule figure compared with the kind of spending he’s enacted and proposed of late. But he rightfully recognized that $100 million is a “drop in the bucket” compared to […]
April 19, 2009 – 12:46 pm
This is a bit off topic, but since it’s Sunday and Podium Pundits seems to have a predilection for British things, I thought I’d comment on the Susan Boyle phenomenon. In case you missed it (and I doubt you have), Ms. Boyle is the 47 year-old amateur singer who charmed Britain – and then the […]
One of the incontrovertible rules of government PR is that if you want to say something unpopular, say it on a Friday. Latest example: today’s EPA announcement of a proposed finding “that greenhouse gases contribute to air pollution that may endanger public health or welfare.” This isn’t a shock to anyone who’s ever listened to a […]
