Are President Obama’s declining poll numbers on his handling of the economy a result of overexposure? Earlier, I, too, argued that the President is grossly over-exposed in the media. I am beginning to rethink that traditional take. As in social media and so many other venues, Mr. Obama is rewriting the rules. For this year, […]
President Obama’s speech in Cairo elicited a whirlwind of accusations from my fellow conservatives, many of whom have labeled it an “apology tour.” Marc Thiessen, former George W. Bush speechwriter, said on Fox News that the president had thrown “our military under the bus in front of a Muslim audience.” When it comes to opportunities […]
As ads go, they don’t come any slicker than this. An actor who looks like everyone’s country uncle looks up from his morning paper and coffee and says, “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of the Big Oil companies always bellyaching we can’t afford clean energy.” He then goes on to hit […]
Last week, it leaked out that GM is looking to sell Chinese cars in America. Today’s Washington Post headline pretty much sums up the dismal state of affairs, “As Detroit Crumbles, China Emerges as Auto Epicenter.” The Post quoted a China-booster as saying, “When we look back 20 years from now, the year 2009 is likely to be […]
AP relates that Chinese media is reporting that GM plans to begin exporting vehicles from China to the U.S. within two years, ramping up sales to more than 50,000 by 2014. The lack of public and political preparation for this major move by GM is somewhat stunning . . . and somewhat in character for […]
Leave it to Forrest Gump to remind us that modern public relations rests on candor. The reality check function of PR has been a truism of management theory from the beginning of the 20th Century. Now actor Tom Hanks is publicly praising his PR agent . . . for simply telling him the truth about […]
The Obama administration’s versatility in using social media is reshaping the way the government contracts. The bonanza called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act–$137 billion for infrastructure, $20 billion to modernize health records, $43 billion for energy initiatives–is being transparently run as a social media function on www.recovery.gov. Interestingly, making the most of a corporate […]
At a tea party protest in Austin, Texas Governor Rick Perry drew the sharpest line in the sand since Colonel William Barrett Travis asked his men to stay and defend the Alamo. The governor, not usually known for inflammatory statements, suggested that if Washington’s big gummit ways pushed us too far, Texas could invoke a […]
Jeff posted an interesting piece on people coming out of the woodwork to pose as former White House speechwriters. Speechwriters face a lot of dilemmas when it comes to credit-taking: What credit is owed to the writer of speech? And how can that writer enjoy recognition, without stepping all over his boss? Ted Sorensen famously […]
March 20, 2009 – 10:12 am
President Obama apologized to Nancy Reagan for a wisecrack about seances. He apologized for last night’s thoughtless “Special Olympics” jibe on the Tonight Show. He has also “taken responsibility” for the AIG fiasco. Earlier, he took responsibility and apologized for several missteps in the appointment process. There is a lesson here for every corporate executive. […]
February 25, 2009 – 12:11 pm
It is one of the hardest assignments in politics–to give the official response of the loyal opposition following the State of the Union address. The SOU, by contrast, is a guaranteed lovefest. All the president has to do is to deliver one well-crafted applause line after another, lines designed to compel Members of Congress to […]
February 19, 2009 – 1:39 pm
We have the new Attorney-General, Eric Holder, to thank for calling us a “nation of cowards” when it comes to candid discussions of race. On the same day, The New York Post was denounced for an editorial cartoon that depicted Connecticut’s rampaging chimpanzee as the putative author of the stimulus package. “The drawing,” huffs Sam Stein […]
February 3, 2009 – 12:06 pm
The maiden speech is always a rite of passage for a newly elected parliamentarian. Witness Benjamin Disraeli, whose famous wit abandoned him as he stood up to give his first speech as a Member of Parliament. After stammering for a few minutes, his voice settled into a whisper. Shouted down, the future prime minister sat […]
January 22, 2009 – 9:19 am
Wait, what’s that lump in my back? Should I call the doctor? Let me feel around back there . . . There seems to be a long, ridged boney protrusion in the middle of my back, rising from my hips, up the length of my torso, into my brain. Could it be a spine? Oh […]
January 20, 2009 – 5:21 pm
Listening to President Obama’s magnificent Inaugural address today, I am struck by his ability to hit on what every American craves out of Washington—a willingness to put work before politics. “On this day,” he said, “we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that […]
