Views on News • November 16th, 2009

Barrett’s in

by Chris Lato

My gut told me he wouldn’t jump in. So much for the predictive abilities of said gut.

Tom Barrett has his work cut out for him. Already, we are seeing cracks in the façade - such as the ‘will he or won’t he raise taxes?’ question. The difference between the printed remarks and his actual words is revealing.

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Leadership, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • October 20th, 2009

Obama vs. Fox

by Chris Lato

The White House has an ax to grind with Fox News. The question is whether this is really a wise battle to be engaging in.

On the one hand, we have Jacob Weisberg calling Fox News un-American and heavily biased. So sayeth the author of ‘The Bush Tragedy.’

On the other hand, William Murchison with the Dallas Morning News argues President Obama has an ‘enemies fetish’ and Ruth Marcus at the Washington Post says picking this fight is ‘dumb.’  

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Leadership, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • October 15th, 2009

Just wonderin’

by Chris Lato

President Obama is discussing sending $13 billion in checks to seniors to make up for the decline in the cost of living adjustment for Social Security. Increases are pegged to inflation, there hasn’t been inflation, and basically, it amounts to a $250 check.

Also, there is no plan at this point to pay for it.

Isn’t there a reason why the rate is tied to the cost of living and inflation?

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Leadership, Messaging, Views on News • August 6th, 2009

Cal Thomas nails it

by Chris Lato

There’s little I can add to this. The cliché goes that the devil is in the details, and yet we don’t even have details to consider yet in the headlong rush for healthcare reform. The central idea to date is, “Healthcare reform has to happen NOW.”

Meanwhile, President Obama’s poll numbers are taking a hit and the spin machine is whirling feverishly. One particularly stark example: House leader Nancy Pelosi claiming that healthcare town hell protestors are ‘carrying swastikas.’

So, oppose what the government is proposing and you are a neo-Nazi? Hmm.

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Leadership, Messaging, Speeches, Views on News • February 25th, 2009

Fact-checking

by Chris Lato

One thing that you can count on is that when given a big stage to speak from, most politicians find it mighty hard to avoid using some creativity in their facts, figures and versions of history.  So, while President Obama knows how to deliver a speech, and every reasonable American should be pulling for him to succeed, it’s always good to do a bit of fact-checking.  

Bottom line: last night’s address to Congress and the nation not detail-heavy. In fact, some may have been disappointed by the lack of detail, but all that comes later. Obama was doing nothing new in that sense. And these deep economic problems won’t be solved overnight, no matter how much some want to believe that all our president has to do is wave a magic wand and our national nightmare is over.

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Views on News • February 24th, 2009

Selling the stimulus

by Chris Lato

This is the point where government bailouts are entering some dangerous territory. For example, in Houston they’re considering paying some of the bills for potential first-time home buyers to help improve their credit scores. President Obama is offering a mortgage bailout plan that critics say crosses the line from needed relief to rewarding bad individual economic decisions and irresponsibility.

Tonight, the president will speak to Congress and the American people and address what he’s done so far and what he’s still looking to do.  The basic template will likely include: Bush got us into this mess; more pain is coming; and, we’ll get out of it.

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Views on News • February 5th, 2009

Quick hits

by Chris Lato

First, my apologies for not checking in as often as usual in recent weeks. Work duties call, and I feel lucky to be able to say I have been keeping busy lately.

Second, please make sure to tune in to Wisconsin Public Radio tomorrow morning from 8-9 a.m. as I join host Joy Cardin to discuss the ‘Week in Review.’ There’s plenty going on - there will be no shortage of things to talk about.

Speaking of, what has happened to President Obama’s communication skills? The same guy who ran a bulletproof campaign that enjoyed relatively positive press coverage has, as an administration, morphed into The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.

The president’s recent fumbles (on the Daschle disaster and economic stimulus meltdown, to name but two) are fuel for the critics’ fire – those who accused Obama of being little more than an empty suit lacking the experience and substance for the big job.

Critics need to cut the new president a bit of slack. He did exactly the right thing by admitting he screwed up on the Tom Daschle nomination (to say nothing of Bill Richardson). A combination of things are at play here, including:

The guy’s brand-new at the job. There are bound to be stumbles.

The unprecedented, fawning coverage of Obama has set up impossibly high expectations.

The press seems to take some delight in building ‘em up, only to tear ‘em down. 

The press likes conflict, and for a change the GOP has united behind a cause that gets the base all fired up: the stimulus package, which critics contend is little more than Democrat pork-barrel spending unbound.

All that said, President Obama is facing his first real test as a leader and a communicator. The game is his to lose. He needs an aggressive, streamlined message on why the stimulus package is needed right now, or else those falling public opinion ratings will continue to plummet.

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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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