Have you ever watched the TV show, TMZ ?
Before a given segment, they always have a clip of the Boss, and the staff, joining in a discussion of what to feature on the show that evening. It’s sort of a back-and-forth bull session, and it helps the boss make the final decisions .
In my semi-warped little brain, it occurred to me that maybe the White House could copy the TMZ format/formula when it comes to handling criticism of the President, and his policies.
The White House could have a staff meeting every day, with a similar bull session, to handle the more acrimonious issues of the Presidential office.
Maybe a large room, or a suite of offices, staffed with dozens of young folks eager to please the Boss, located near the Oval Office, so the President could have quick access whenever a criticism, or slight, occurs, so he can easily, and quickly, launch an attack on his enemies, on a moments notice. It would be kind of like a War Room, but without Generals, and maps, and such.
A typical day may include, in TMZ fashion, a group briefing/debriefing on the most pressing issues, where everyone gets to join-in, and express themselves, and their opinions, openly. This is when they plan, and map-out the day, and get their assignments, and their talking points, and agenda points, and language, etc. They would need to be on-topic, regardless of the actual media, be it blogs, or print, or TV, or radio, etc.
For example, at the moment, the hot issue seems to be about FoxNews. The President wants FoxNews attacked because he doesn’t like their programming, or, whatever; that is where the talking points are important; they would define the attack.
Since this is a high tech President, the frontal attacks most likely would include a variety of responses during the day, that would include press conferences, telephone calls, text messaging, planted posts to ‘independent’ blog sites, and social networks such as Facebook, and Twitter. News releases, news articles, article websites, posting comments on enemy blogs, and friendly blogs, etc, etc. Maybe they could even plan for the President to give a speech.
Anyway, so the President leaves the bull session, and goes about his day, and his people begin their work, however, he can stop by whenever he is so inclined, or if there is an emergency that needs his personal attention.
I would imagine that there would be alot of team work involved in such an operation. I can imagine only a few teams, but there might be many more than are necessary. For example:
There might be a team that is devoted to attacking FoxNews. Their task is to use all the resources at their disposal to bad-mouth their target, FoxNews.
Another team might continue the ongoing fight for health care reform. Half could extol the virtues of the Democratic plan, while the other half might attack opposition and dissent, or UnAmerican activity, such as protests. The team could have some political professionals to handle the more difficult problems, such as finding ways to silence dissent from the health insurance industry by threatening them with Congressional action.
Of course, I imagine there would be ongoing projects, like the Data Mining Project, where the team mines data from social networking sites like Facebook, and Twitter, and organizes it into something that is politically useful to the Administration. Or, devises programs like the Big Brother Snitch Program that asked Americans to report each other.
And there is a permanent team assigned to cover unkept promises made by the President, such as why Gitmo is still open, and why “Don’t ask, don’t tell” has not been abolished, or why Cap and Trade is not really a tax to the middle class, etc.
I imagine that a Strike Team would be necessary to handle a new crisis as it was developing. For instance, when Humana told its customers the truth that Medicare would be cut because of health care reform, Humana was slapped with a gag order blocking them from further comment.
Of course, the center piece of the daily attacks would be a one hour, prime time TV show that would showcase the bull sessions with the President, and summarize, and/or display the tactics, and attacks of the day, and provide additional video attacks, and follow-ups to previous attacks. The possibilities are endless The President could make an appearance, or even have a regular time slot where he can make a speech, or dispense some words of wisdom, or simply castigate his enemies. He could have guests, and guests host, and commentaries, etc, etc.
(Hmmmm.. this is actually not such a bad idea; it does have possibilities. The President already has a radio program, why not just go to the next step and have a TV show ? Heck, this would be a sure money-maker. How many world leader have their own prime time TV show ? Since this is my bright idea, I want due credit, and amble and generous compensation if such a show comes to fruition.)
=====
It is obvious that the White House expends a lot of resources, i.e., dollars, and time, fighting individuals, and organizations, that are perceived to be enemies of the White House. It is reminiscent of President Nixon, and his enemies list, and his legendary disdain for the news media. Politicians should be made of “sterner stuff”.
I just wish that President Obama had a room full of folks who would tell him to forget this FoxNews war, and similar such stuff, and concentrate on more important issues, such as the economy, and how to create jobs, or, how about making a decision about Afghanistan, etc.
And, there are a few other little pressing matters, like…. hmmm…. Iran building nuclear weapons, and a means of delivering them….. and North Korea is still there, and it still needs to be addressed…… and Gitmo, etc.
There are dozens of issues that are a hundred times more important than whether FoxNews likes the President, or his policies. It just seems so unpresidential, and so misguided for the White House to waste time on such issues. I wish the President had someone close to him who would tell him that when he, the President, attacks his ‘enemies’, they gain publicity, and credibility, and ammunition, and he gets less respect from everyone, including his supporters.
If the President wants respect, all he has to do is be a leader; be a real President, and work to solve our many problems, instead of creating big problems from petty issues.
And that is just my opinion.
Spencer Holly
www.angrycalifornian.com
0077
===================================================
OTHER RESOURCES
Update: White House escalates war on FoxNews.
===================================================
http://www.pjtv.com/?cmd=video&video-id=2597
VIDEO: The White House Declares War on Fox News
===================================================
Click here to visit TMZ.com
===================================================
PJTV.com
Enemies List
Senator Alexander: Obama’s Enemies List & How Not to Make Friends in Washington
