Views on News • January 28th, 2009

Is age a factor?

by Chris Lato

Regarding the upcoming state Supreme Court race, I’m merely raising the question: is Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson too old to run? Assuming she serves out her full 10-year term, she will be 85 at the end of the road.

I have no inside knowledge about her health - presumably she’s sharp as a tack. Otherwise, evidence to the contrary would likely be clear on the campaign trail.

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Views on News • January 21st, 2009

A new day in America

by Chris Lato

I talked to plenty of Republicans after the election who said they hope for the best with President Obama - that he has to succeed for the good of all.

The question is how one defines success, and which path is taken to get there.

The 2008 election was historic. President Obama proved himself to be a canny campaigner who has been an inspiring figure for millions. That’s all to the good.

President Obama will get a very short honeymoon due to the pressing issues of a crumbling economy and wars that need to be resolved quickly to uphold campaign pledges. That’s a lot to live up to, and even his most ardent supporters have to admit that Obama won’t be perfect.

It’s good to keep in mind that dissent is healthy, no matter who is president, and critics would do well to separate policy from the person. Being president may be one of the toughest jobs in the world – now more than ever.  

Hopefully, all sides will strive to achieve a better balance than the last eight years, in which former President Bush was attacked with great regularity and astonishing viciousness as a moron, a drunk, an illiterate frat house good-old-boy, and far, far worse.

All that said, the hands-down worst result of the elections has been the patronizing obnoxiousness of the celebrity left – after eight years of oblivious, uninformed criticism, they’ve suddenly decided to turn their lights off and buy a Prius thanks to President Obama. Yippee!

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Leadership, Messaging, Views on News • January 15th, 2009

Assessing the Bush 43 years

by Chris Lato

With Barack Obama’s inauguration right around the corner, columnists are conducting their assessments of our departing president. Some assessments are positive. Some are mixed at best. Others are consistent and unsparing in their relentless criticism.

I consider this after recently seeing ‘Frost/Nixon,’ an excellent movie that offers echoes of the current Bush administration and how the media sees these two presidents and works to ‘take them down.’

As the critiques continue to pile up, context is key. Certain writers and media outlets will simply never give Bush an ounce of credit for anything. In that sense, they discredit themselves almost instantly.

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Q & A, Views on News • January 12th, 2009

The long goodbye

by Chris Lato

With his final presidential news conference, George W. Bush has offered a listing of his mistakes as well as a defense of his actions.

Will the belated self-criticism matter to his enemies? Of course not. I’ve often thought President Bush made a tactical error by not willing to own up to his administration’s clear mistakes sooner and offering correctives. He is a ‘stay the course’ guy, occasionally to his detriment.

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Messaging, Views on News, public relations • January 9th, 2009

Is MPS keeping a gay-friendly school in the closet?

by Chris Lato

The PR folks at the Milwaukee Public School district had best brace themselves for a potential firestorm.

Although it was first reported by U.S. News and World Report a few weeks ago, only now is the story inexplicably starting to surface: the MPS board has approved what is apparently the first gay-friendly middle school in the nation.

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Leadership, Messaging, Views on News, public relations • January 7th, 2009

Aggressive PR is paying off

by Chris Lato

Call it ‘Mr. Burris Goes to Washington.’ The Roland Burris saga continues to play out in Washington, where he appears ready to be allowed to take over former Senator Obama’s seat after initially being denied.

Burris’ trip to DC was dismissed earlier this week as political theater, a stunt. Dismiss it all you want, but it appears to be working brilliantly. Chalk it up to the power of aggressive PR to change minds and drive action that leads to a desired outcome. He’s out in front, taking charge of the story and never shying away from the camera, while subtly supporting the notion that he is the victim of circumstances beyond his control.

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