Monthly Archives: June 2009

Obama: Overexposed?

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, […]

Is Obama overexposed?

Over at NewMajority.com, a self-described PR professional named Crystal Wright reviews three problems she sees with President Obama’s PR record while in office.  Here’s a sample: The president’s single biggest PR mistake is his over-exposure in the media. When anyone talks too much, president or celebrity, people just get tired of listening to that person. […]

A Good Day for Women and Girls

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Melanne Verveer’s the swearing-in ceremony as our first-ever Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues.  It was a lovely occasion — full of both rejoicing and resolve, as Secretary Clinton and her newest ambassador reaffirmed their commitment to “make sure that the concerns of women and girls remain central […]

Leadership Communications is about the Future — Mostly

Today’s New York Times includes an article about Republican leaders who say the party needs to move beyond the invocation of Ronald Reagan.  I largely agree. In the 2008 campaign, every GOP candidate sought to capture the mantle of Ronald Reagan.  The result was a field that occasionally seemed focused on returning to the past rather […]

Commencement Conclusions

We’re nearing the end of commencement season, and reviews are rolling in.  Fletcher Dean offers up his faves and flops on Ragan.com; Joe Biden and Tom Brokaw get big props, along with environmentalist Paul Hawken, but he thinks Ellen DeGeneres missed in her appearance at Tulane. I admit, I cringed at the same section of […]

WTF, Chuck?

As people who use words — full words, often in complete sentences — to communicate, it’s easy for speechwriters to seem a little behind the times when it comes to new-fangled technology like the Twitter. 140 characters? Speechwriters can barely say hello in 140 characters. And while I recognize the communications benefits of Twitter — reaching the kids […]

D-Day Orations — Lessons in the Large and the Small

The leaders of France, Canada, the UK and the US  have just finished back-to-back orations at the D-Day commemorative ceremonies.  We have witnessed many such anniversary observances over the years — every one moving, not simply for what has been said there, in Normandy, but far more for what so many did there, all those […]

Friday Round Up

Thanks to Mark for his post on the President’s speech in Cairo, which I agree was terrific.  I was also impressed by the forethought the White House gave to the speech’s distribution; same-day versions were available in Arabic, Chinese, Dari, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Malay, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, and Urdu — which means […]

Obama in Cairo: An Apology Tour?

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 […]

The ABCs (and TARPs) of Governing

Today’s Wall Street Journal takes a humorous look at the proliferation of acronyms in stimulus-era Washington. They include the ugly (RAT Board), odd (LUST Trust), and potentially profane (FCCCER). But the Commerce Department (AKA DOC) takes the cake: Some government departments have described their stimulus plans almost entirely in acronyms, such as the Department of Commerce, […]

The Problem with Good Press

Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson today asks a question vexing conservatives: “Has any recent president basked in so much favorable media coverage [as President Obama has]?” His answer: no – and that’s not healthy. Samuelson points to a new Pew study that attaches some numbers to the sense of coziness between the Administration and the […]

Sound Bites Versus Truth

Editor’s Note: Today’s guest post is by Tom Daly, editor of Vital Speeches of the Day. I was recently made aware by way of an excellent speech in the June issue of Vital Speeches of the Day, that we are slowly but surely leaving the sound bite era. The speech was by former George H.W. […]