Part of our class discussion on political PR involved a presentation on Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign, which is a popular subject due to the campaign’s use of new media and his ability to successfully communicate with such a wide audience. The historic campaign is now behind us and the world is watching to see how the 44th President of the United States measures up to expectations. Public relations no doubt played a notable role in the campaign, but I’m interested to see how PR plays into the presidency.
Still shy of 100 days as President, Obama’s performance has been a hot topic of conversation not just America, but on the global stage as well. In the States, he’s made headlines for a comment which appears in the video below that he made on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno about the Special Olympics.
According to the Chicago Tribune, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters:
“The president believes that the Special Olympics are a triumph of the human spirit. He understands that they deserve a lot better than … the thoughtless joke that he made last night.”
I watched the entire interview and minus that comment, thought it went well and that Obama came across as intelligent and down-to-earth. Following recent criticisms that he relies too heavily on a teleprompter, this will no doubt keep his public relations personnel busy.
On a more international scale, Obama has made headlines in the past few days regarding his participation in the G20 summit here in London. In a joint press conference (see below) with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the pair speak of “global solutions for global problems” and a “partnership of purpose” between the UK and the US. From a PR standpoint, the way that Obama is perceived throughout the summit is highly significant since this is his first major overseas visit since taking office. On the world stage, the US is seen as a catalyst for global economic recovery (BBC). In the US, he will no doubt be held to his campaign promises of being able to deliver results on an international stage.
Political PR seems like a tricky field, particularly because of the human error involved. Mistakes in a speech and other significant inaccuracies (since when did “Read my lips: no new taxes” mean a rise in taxes, Bush Sr.?) can damage a political reputation beyond PR repair. Then there’s the PR minefield that was George W. Bush. He’s certainly enough to discourage me from pursuing a career in political PR, but on the bright side, he did give us hours of bloopers.
