PR masterstroke: Bush pleads ‘guilty’
President Bush’s decision to lead the enquiry into his own government’s response to Hurricane Katrina should have been a major tactical error. It’s hard to see how such an investigation could avoid an understandably cynical response – acting as judge, jury and defence creates a clear conflict of interest – and the first rule of good PR is to be open and honest.
Yet it’s turned out to be something of a public relations masterstroke that’s illustrated the power of holding your hands up and admitting you got it wrong. Clearly, Bush had pre-judged the outcome of his enquiry: guilty.
He won’t resign, but his self-flagellation went further than many expected. While many have denied race had a part to play, Bush acknowledged ‘racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America’.
This is a strategy that only works with a guilty verdict. Had Bush submitted to an independent enquiry, he’d have been forced to put up a defence, offer something in mitigation or try to shift blame. And this is what makes self-flagellation a masterstroke: a failed defence would have been a stick for others to beat him with.
Contact Stephen Newton
Comments (No comments)
There are no comments on this post so far.
Post a comment