What follows is an excerpt of my November 19 op-ed in the Washington Times. You can find the full article here.
The two stars of the recent election were Barack Obama and "mainstream media" bias. In this media climate, the terms "Republican" and "conservative" have been relegated to epithet status.
My Democratic-leaning friends argue, fairly, I think, that if the media are so biased, why have Republican presidents sat in the Oval Office for nearly 20 of the last 28 years? The answer is that while the media always play a huge role in presidential elections and their aftermaths, they don't play the only role.
Story Continues Below Ad ↓As Republicans burrow into the political desert, a strategic, if anecdotal, walk down memory lane may be instructive. After all, the only difference between what we're seeing with the mainstream media now and what we saw when I entered the work force in the early 1980s is that today there's not even a pretense of objectivity.
So what are the Republicans to do?
While my present career in damage control is apolitical, I got my start in Washington in 1982 as an intern in Reagan White House's PR operation headed by the late, legendary Michael Deaver, whose worldview famously served as the touchstone for all Reagan administration communications. I recall no hallway debates during this time period about mainstream media bias. It was simply assumed as a point of indisputable fact - and palpably felt in the cramped press office. Deaver knew, however, that to espouse a belief in a liberal media bias in polite society was to admit to being an uncouth rube, so Americans never heard much carping on the subject from Reagan officials.
Still, Reagan's team knew that managing the press in some manner was crucial, so the administration's approach was anchored in two of Deaver's favorite terms: The Talent and The Optics.
Eric Dezenhall is chief executive officer of Dezenhall Resources Ltd., a crisis management firm based in Washington D.C. He is the author of "Damage Control: Why Everything You Know About Crisis Management is Wrong."
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We know
November 19, 2008 - 18:45 ET by ahusserThe press is not our side and we ignore them at our peril. We have lost not only the presidency but both houses of congress because of it. The only thing I don't agree in the article is that Reagan had genuine talent. Obama's was spun for him and he is basically talentless. Slick centrist marketing, huge financial resources, fanatical followers, a destroyed presidency, and a willing media made this empty suit into a president.
Every conservative politician has to know this going in and must have a strategy to deal with it. That is why personal appearances on MSNBC are counter-productive. Conservatives are always painted as fools or worse.
"...no civilization, no matter how rich, no matter how refined, can long survive once it loses the power to meet force with equal or superior force." - Bernard Knox
ahusser... Every conserva
November 19, 2008 - 18:59 ET by bigtimerahusser...
Every conservative politician has to know this going in and must have a strategy to deal with it. That is why personal appearances on MSNBC are counter-productive. Conservatives are always painted as fools or worse.
Hear...Hear!
I agree and have posted as such also...yet we have this still going on.
Until some of the conservatives wake up, fight back with strategy, take a firm stand, repeat message via some msm outlets... do not back down...ever...we will continue to lose.
Illegal immigration and oil independence would of won our side easily, all polls said so...this is something by both sides in this county agreed on, big time poll wise, plus throw in National Defense/WOT, constitutional judges...we would have had it made.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
BT
November 19, 2008 - 19:23 ET by ahusserI will submit that Pres. Bush is a good man but had terrible advisors. The GOP in congress foundered from a lack of a message. They were never able to communicate their good ideas effectively and never could defend themselves. The press and the left (synonymous now) beat them bloody. The press has been lefty for a long time, since the counter culture of the 60's and even earlier. The country club type of politics is gone and the extreme wing of the Dems is in charge. They don't want compromise they want total victory and damn if they didn't nearly run the table. BTW I see your ref to the Wash. Times I live in the former People's Republic of Maryland now the Socialist Republic. I was very surprised at the turning of Va into a Blue state. Northern Virginia has been pulling VA into the lefty camp for a long time.
"...no civilization, no matter how rich, no matter how refined, can long survive once it loses the power to meet force with equal or superior force." - Bernard Knox
Oh ahusser... I could not
November 19, 2008 - 19:37 ET by bigtimerOh ahusser...
I could not agree more than with your sentiments...you talk about never-ending frustration with this administration and the President himself not standing firm, clear with conviction using the Bully-pulpit whenever necessary to get our points out, fight back, especially during the WOT i.e. the NYTs and WaPO releasing classified info, these are just two examples ect...plus other things of course...I could of pulled my hair out at times...
Now of course the far left is in charge...with Soros and crew leading the way...he has sunk millions if not billions into different venues over the years, phony/shill acronym groups to-boot to carry his message/work...he finally has succeeded.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
This Government is going to be
November 19, 2008 - 19:40 ET by ahusserjust like a baby's dietary habits. In the mouth and straight out the other end. Nothing in between to stop anything.
"...no civilization, no matter how rich, no matter how refined, can long survive once it loses the power to meet force with equal or superior force." - Bernard Knox
I'm not prepared to be a victim
November 19, 2008 - 21:30 ET by nwahsI don't think we lost both houses because of the media. I think we lost them from the likes of Tom Delay, Dennis Hastert, David Vitter, and the latest Republican with his hand in the cookie jar - Stevens. Republican candidates got lazy and dumb. "Vote for me. I support traditional values."
If you base you platform on a euphemism, you should lose. "Traditional values" is no less ridiculous than "Change."
Where was the outrage when that garbage began welling up in Republican campaigns? Because we let that coast, we find ourselves in our position. We find ourselves in our position from years of being vague and obscure, not from being conservative.
If you can't give me 45 minutes on the difference between conservatism and libertarianism, why should I believe you are a conservative? Anyone? Whats the difference between libertarianism and conservatism? Maybe Rush Limbaugh will enlighten us? I doubt it.
nwahs
November 19, 2008 - 22:32 ET by RESTLESS 1I agree wholeheartedly. "Traditional values" is nonsense if you have to tell everyone you have them. If a candidate truly is on the side of "traditional values" then the catch phrase wouldn't be necessary. It would be obvious.
Also, there is more to conservatism than just values and religion. Fiscal responsibility, personal responsibility are just as important.
Logic is the domain of the right, yet we fail to use it time after time. We look for catch phrases like the left, with no real meaning. "Traditional values" works because logic dictates it so. Studies bear it out, but, Republican leaders MUST walk the walk before anyone will listen to the talk.
"This
liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about
basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008
hi nwahs
November 19, 2008 - 23:59 ET by shawn228I do not believe I have talked to you yet, but first of all sorry for taking your name and need to resort to mixing up the letters :-)
Second, thank you very much for acknowledging the faults of the GOP. Yes the msm are very biased and in the tank of Dems, but it is always nice to see a conservative like yourself admit that the GOP is as much to blame for losing them losing the election as much as the msm.
He had my vote
You're the one!
November 20, 2008 - 01:36 ET by nwahsSo you're the one! I was going to do the numbers thing but I always forget the numbers :)
I think the only way conservatism is in trouble is if conservatives start accepting excuses and refuse to look at their mistakes honestly. That has been and will always be, a recipe for disaster in any group.
nw... Plenty of us have
November 20, 2008 - 01:46 ET by bigtimernw...
Plenty of us have been...where have you been.
Group hug to you both tonight...if you ever get done hugging each other that is.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
..and by the way
November 20, 2008 - 01:53 ET by bigtimer..and by the way nw...losing Tom Delay by the media driven rules enforced by Hassert and other wimpy repubs helping to lead the way for him to step down with charges by a run-away political leftist prosecutor was the beginning of the down-fall of the repub side of the aisle in the House.
You really need to get a grip on what happened and I for one am sick of you pretending to act like you are a conservative when it benefits you here.
I see right through you...always have.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Well said, BT. Next he'll
November 20, 2008 - 04:29 ET by ckc1227Well said, BT. Next he'll be telling us the way to win is by embracing global warming and pushing for nationalized health care, lol.
No.
November 20, 2008 - 09:42 ET by nwahsNo, just get rid of the stupid. And fortunately the stupid is a very small percentage of conservatives, perhaps disenfranchised Dixiecrats. Unfortunately they have big mouths :)
I agree nwahs
November 20, 2008 - 10:31 ET by shawn228I keep saying that the msm were in the bag for Kerry in 04 as well. What was different this election? People are down on the GOP franchise, not just for the scandals, but because of party infighting and finger pointing. If they were united they would not have lost by 170 electoral votes. Also congress approval rating is something like 11 percent, how the heck can you lose seats to the incumbants if something is not seriously wrong?
Even folks like Limbaugh and Hannity are not blaming it all on the msm and accept the loss and say the Republican party has to share in the blame
He had my vote
"I don't think we lost both
November 20, 2008 - 04:25 ET by ckc1227"I don't think we lost both houses because of the media. I think we lost
them from the likes of Tom Delay, Dennis Hastert, David Vitter, and the
latest Republican with his hand in the cookie jar...Stevens"
Yeah, if only Republicans were scandal-free like Democrats, we'd never lose. You know, like William "Cold Cash" Jefferson(D), who was just re-elected, or Charlie "Taxes for thee but not for me" Rangel, or Chris "Countrwide" Dodd, or John "our soldiers are murderers and Pennsylvanians are redneck racists" Murtha, Joe "the plagiarist' Biden, or Barack "Ayers was just a guy in the neighborhood, and oh by the way I didn't know what was going on in the church I attended for 20 years" Obama.
Both sides have bad guys, you just hear about one side a little more than the other, courtesy of the non-biased media. That's the point.
"If you can't give me 45 minutes on the difference between conservatism
and libertarianism, why should I believe you are a conservative?"
Why shouldn't you? Did I miss something? When did being an expert on libertarianism become a requirement for being a Conservative? If I can't give you 45 minutes on the difference between Christianity and Buddhism, does that mean I'm not a Christian either?
I just wanted to see
November 20, 2008 - 10:13 ET by nwahsI just wanted to see how many people actually know what conservatism is. The difference between conservatism (any flavor) and libertarianism (any flavor) is libertarianism is primarily a governing model and conservatism is primarily a creed. Conservatism is constantly rebuilding its government model because the government model exists only to facilitate the creed.
And since some like the part of the creed that makes God the ultimate authority of the world, and others like the fiscal responsibility part, we can have this diverse set of people trying to create a monolith.
Message
November 19, 2008 - 18:56 ET by StayOnPointWith the growth of the internet and talk radio, who needs the MSM? Consevatives would do well in the next election cycle to just bypass the MSM altogether and stick with those venues which will get their message out unfiltered. The only time they should consider the MSM is when it is a live show and then do as Sarah Palin did in the debates and talk straight into the camera. Screw the MSM, I haven't subscribed to my local rag paper in over ten years nor have I watched any of the MSM garbage programs. I can get the facts myself online, anytime.
Oppose Obamunism-Elect Conservatives in 2012
Oops, missing ingredients
November 19, 2008 - 18:57 ET by Agrarian-DecentralistNow add to the talent and optics some actual ideas that make sense in 21st century America and maybe you'll have something.
OOPS AG
November 19, 2008 - 19:48 ET by NorthCoasterWhat was it that Barack voted "present" on in Illinois?
Yep, that's right, almost everything.
If you never take a position, you can change positions like chameleons change color and be anything that people want. Seems to me that Barack commented that, he wasn't quite sure who he was, because of the "persona of BHO" that he was allowing people to project on him.
"Now add to the talent and
November 20, 2008 - 03:52 ET by ckc1227"Now add to the talent and optics some actual ideas that make sense in 21st century America and maybe you'll have something."
Yeah, like Obama's spread the wealth philosophy, which is so 21st century, lol.
I give the printed press a
November 19, 2008 - 19:50 ET by TN MomI give the printed press a life expectancy 3-4 years!
More and more as people rely on the internet for their news the MSM will slowly become obsolete.
Interesting article Eric, but I am pessimistic
November 19, 2008 - 19:57 ET by exLibMy first intention is for Republicans to do what Democrats did for the last 6 years and that is to drag their feet and then during the primaries to freeze out Fox News. I hate that Palin went on CNN and did an interview with Matt Lauer on CBS, they both tried to continue to make her look the fool.
But let's just recap the last 8 years of Bush from a Media Bias stand point:
- Who watches Press Conferences? Hardly anyone. So how do people learn what a President says during a press conference? Watch or Read the News. How many people read a Transcript? Hardly anyone, so the media can shape the Presidents entire speech through select soundbites and misquotes. The media did this to perfection by limiting negatives for Obama and highlighting negatives for McCain and especially Palin.
- The media completely marginalized Bush, especially the last 4 years. It was like he got to bask in his win for less than a year during which time the media harassed him, refused to put him on national television, downplayed if not ignored his accomplishments and positives and completely ignored him the last year, only bringing his name out occasionally to remind the public of his low approval ratings.
- in today's media there are no negatives attached to homosexuality only positives.
When I talk to the most of the people I know, they know all about Palin's gaffs and know NONE of Obama's mis-speaks or any of his negatives.
The only hope i have is that people will notice that even though Obama won the left is still in a rage and isn't happy that it didn't win every election. On the otherhand, the media continues to report as if it's Republicans that are the ones in a rage.
Eric... I'm at a point
November 19, 2008 - 20:00 ET by Clear thinkerEric...
I'm at a point where it may be necessary to use a baseball bat to combat the liberal media.
Teach Your Children Well
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
OBAMA: DOES NOTHING SO WELL...BUT
November 19, 2008 - 20:16 ET by reelman46OBAMA: DONE NOTHING YET
So
he is at 68% for all his yak yak…his political life has been a zero for
achievements in the legislature and congress…guess what?
Its time that you MUST actually do things and be held accountable…no excuses, no blame-shifting, no wait till next year-isms.
What will happen when he actually DOES just some things he promised?
When he starts on the radical socialism aspects like those below he promised?
When he taxes the high achievers like he promised?
When he trashes all morals to please kook groups like PP and homo radicals?
When he raises the capital gains tax like he promised?
When he fails to revive the economy by the 2010 and excuses wear thin?
When most paychecks get dinged by letting the GB tax cuts expire like he promised?
When the eco-PETA kooks get some goofy oppressive laws passed?
When your retirement plans are still down 25% in 2010 and he does nothing but “feel your pain”, tax and yak?
When gas prices again hit $4 and you are told to inflate your tires and walk?
When he packs federal courts with Frisco-type activist judges like he promised?
When he treats terrorists and illegals as good as citizens or better on your VISA?
=====
How will you like him then?
How will the lib-media like him then after changing his diapers for 2 years?
=====
Remember Jimmah Carter? Look it up…democrats had total control then.
Doug Schexnayder, Ph.D. (theconservativecrawfish)
I have faith in people.
November 19, 2008 - 21:02 ET by pbthinkerI actually have faith that, this time at least, the MSM has gone so far they will pay a price for it. They've mad Obama out to be the savior of everything that's wrong with America so, once we don't have Republicans gumming up the works, the messiah will solve all your problems. Well, the problem with that is no one could possibly fill those expectations.
Democrats, being democrats, will tend to overstep their bounds and Obama will start to put his socialistic programs in place and it won't take people long to figure out that isn't the change they were looking for. Once they realize the change isn't what they're looking for, they'll try and figure out why they didn't recognize Obama for who he turned out to be. That, my friends, is when the MSM is in deep trouble. They have sacrificed all their credibility on a guy that, many of them admit, they don't know.
I hope they enjoy the position they've put themselves in. Once the people realize how they've been taken for a ride, 2010 is going to be mighty sweet.
Democrats: Stuck on Stupid since 2000.
Give it up!
November 19, 2008 - 21:56 ET by ZuccoZoidAs Franz Kafka said: Give it Up!
First: the MSM has proven that PERSUASION TRUMPS TRUTH.
Second: as Obama will hopefully discover, there is only one party - of MONEY. As citizens we have long lost our representation.
Read this book: FREE LUNCH
http://www.amazon.co...
Very fine article Eric,
November 19, 2008 - 22:51 ET by RESTLESS 1I do differ with you in opinion on "that one's" talent though. Reagan passionately believed that his way was right for the country. "That one" only passionately believes in his own sense of entitlement.
Many say he is a great speaker. That is not true. He is a great reader, and deliverer of memorized lines. IMHO, a great speaker is made when he/she truly believes what they are saying. This makes for less "umm's" and "err's" and "ahhs" when speaking off the cuff, or answering questions. "That one" is not good when it comes to those situations, where Reagan often excelled, and Bush to some extent as well, especially in the time after 9/11.
It doesn't take "talent" per se when you actually believe to the core what you are espousing. Reagan's true, deep beliefs are what made him so "talented", and the great president that he was. And the people saw it.
"This
liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about
basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008
Good article. Thanks
November 20, 2008 - 11:19 ET by Ruths husband BenGood article. Thanks for sharing it.
Combat the MSM by walking the walk
November 21, 2008 - 07:29 ET by PopularTechAs in being fiscally conservative, cut taxes AND cut spending.
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