Democrats on Deficit: Proclaim, Don’t Blame

Republicans have a potent issue to win over Independents and other swing voters in the 2010 congressional elections – the deficit. The Democrats’ defense against deficit spending charges so far has been “Bush did it first.”
That “Bush did it first” blaming is certainly true. Bush’s Democratic predecessor eliminated the deficit, and Bush built [...]

A Developing Tragedy…

The first reports from Fort Hood are chaotic but are coalescing around a couple of truly horrific numbers – 12 dead, 31 injured in a shooting on the U.S.’s largest military installation.  Now comes word that the one of three possible shooters is Army Major Malik Nadal Hassan, age 39 or 40.
There is so many [...]

“Breaking” a News Story That’s Quivering in Plain Sight

A story in the StarTribune today made me think about how covering the health care debate the way we cover elections — as a horse race — results in such lame coverage and an electorate that knows very little about what’s truly going on.
The story is about a small young girl in Colorado who was [...]

“Smart Choices” Smart Marketing?

Cocoa Puffs and Fruit Loops are “Smart Choices” for health conscious consumers, according to labels applied by General Mills and Kelloggs. But the Food and Drug Association (FDA), ever the regulatory “mean mom,” is not so sure.
The FDA is a stickler for details, and it has discovered there is no fruit in the Loops. [...]

Nobel Prize Winner Speaks Clear, Simple Truth

Sometimes it takes a Nobel Prize winner to say something clear and strong and compelling about our world.
No, not our Nobel Prize winner — Bangladesh’s.
Muhammad Yunus is this week’s person answering 10 questions from Time Magazine readers. He is the genius behind local microloans that help people in Bangladesh start tiny businesses so they can [...]

New Tech Update

I’ve spent the morning playing with Google Voice and it seems like a fun, shiny new toy.
The concept is pretty simple: you create a master phone number – 612-234-5172 in my case – and then link to that one number all the other phone numbers of your life – home, work, cell, cabin, grandpa’s barn, [...]

“I’ll Write You a Letter of Recommendation”

The last question at President Obama’s town hall forum today in Costa Mesa, California, came from a black guy who said he’d been laid off and can’t find a job. He’d worked for 13 years, was laid off at Toyota, and has a felony on his record and says that’s making it harder to find [...]

Auto Execs’ PR Stunt Can’t Hide the Weight of Their Wallets

As I write, the Big Three auto execs are driving their hybrid cars to Washington so they can line up at the federal bailout trough on Thursday and not be laughed out of town. The last time they came with their hands out, they flew in their corporate jets, and that didn’t sit well with [...]

Media Relations in the Current News Environment…

…I am working with a client who is likely to be the subject of negative coverage in the Wall Street Journal sometime in the next week or so.  We have been working with the reporter to provide our perspective on the story and to shape the narrative where possible, but this is one of those [...]

The Votes Are In…

..and among the media, there seems to be high degree of consensus:
“Palin confused on Social Security, other issues“ – Chicago Sun-Times
Washington Post – “Palin Denies Denying Human Role in Global Warming“
“Palin Flip-Flops on Whether Global Warming Has Man-Made Causes“ – ABC News
Atlantic – “McCain: Liar Who Won’t Correct”
“McCain wrong on Palin earmarks“ – Los Angeles [...]