On 31 Jul 2002 at 4:50, Hermit wrote:
>
> Hermit asks Joe if the Whitehouse is now engaging in unAmerican
activities?
>
Actually, advertising one's brand and hyping its benefits seems
to me to be quintessentially American. In this age of pervasive "Great
Satan" rhetoric, it is long overdue for the US to make the case for
herself and her actions and positions, since adversaries are all too
eager to make the case against them. For too long we have either
considered the logic of US decisions to be obvious and in no need of
explanation, or alternately (and sadly), we just didn't care about what
we considered the biased, jealous, resentful and self-serving opinions
of others when we thought we were 'doing the right thing'. But even the
proper policies need to be sold, for all of them, proper or im-, will be
criticized, sometimes faiirly, sometimes un-. In some cases we are on
the correct path and in some cases we are not, but if we persist in
allowing those who have our worst interests at heart to characterize our
every action and position without advocacy reply, then we risk having
even our better moves and stands unfairly frowned upon.
>
> White House acts to shed arrogant image
>
> New PR office to sell Bush policies and war on terror
>
> Source: The Guardian
> Authors: Julian Borger
> Dated: 2002-07-31
>
> The White House will set up a new office to try to salvage America's
plummeting image abroad, it was announced yesterday as an
independent
taskforce reported that even the country's allies saw the US as
"arrogant",
"hypocritical" and "self-absorbed".
>
> This autumn, an office of global communications will take over the job of
selling "Brand America" from the state department, which the White
House
believes has failed to do the job effectively.
>
> Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, said yesterday that "in
recognition of the fact that we are involved in a global war on terror, the
president sees a need for a White House role in global
communications".
>
> Weeks after September 11, a public diplomacy office was set up in the
state department, under the leadership of former advertising executive
Charlotte Beers, but it has been unable to stem a tide of hostility
towards
US policies.
>
> The scale of the problem facing the new office was illustrated by a
strongly worded report published yesterday by a 35-strong taskforce on
America's image, made up of government officials, advertising and
media
executives commissioned by a respected non-partisan thinktank, the
Council on Foreign Relations.
>
> The report, handed to the White House eight weeks ago, looked at
international opinion polls and concluded that: "Around the world, from
western Europe to the far east, many see the United States as arrogant,
hypocritical, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, and contemptuous of others."
>
> David Morey, one of the taskforce's chairmen, welcomed the creation of
the office as "a good first step". Mr Morey, who runs a New York public
relations company, DMG, told the Guardian that the US spent only $5m
(£3.2m) a year on public diplomacy, "less than half what [Michael]
Bloomberg spent to get elected mayor of New York", and that new
ambassadors were only given one hour's coaching on the subject
before
being dispatched abroad.
>
> But he argued that Washington itself had done a lot to undermine
America's standing by its rejection of international treaties on the
environment, the international criminal court and the global arms race.
>
> The new office will grow out of the coalition information centre, set up
with the help of Tony Blair's media mastermind, Alastair Campbell, to
promote Washington and London's point of view during the Afghan war.
>
> "We basically restored order to their house," a British official said. "We
helped them look ahead to anticipate problems that are going to
happen -
set pieces like civilian casualties."
>
> The office is said to be the brainchild of Karen Hughes, a Bush adviser
who resigned this month to return to family life in Texas. An ex-
colleague
said she would contribute "big picture ideas" but would not be involved
in
the office's day-to-day running.
>
> A former CIC official said the president's advisers [color=Yellow][/color]"
don't think state is doing a good enough job, so they're going to take it
on...
Nobody is that impressed with Charlotte Beers and what she's done.
She
listens to people. She's done a lot of listening, but you need to go
further
than that."
>
> A state department official said Ms Beers' office had only been
"enlightened" about the initiative yesterday and it was still unclear what
the
division of labour would be. But she suggested the takeover might give
the
marketing effort more "star quality
>
>
> ----
> This message was posted by Hermit to the Virus 2002 board on Church of Virus BBS.
> <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=51;action=display;threadid=25900>
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