When it comes to diversity, each organization has its place on the diversity continuum. Oblivious – Aware – Acceptance by law – Celebrated. Wherever your organization’s marker, our diversity training will help you reach your diversity goal.

We cut through the veneer, peeling off sensitive layers, and discuss the issue of diversity like no other. You get it right the very first time. Contact us today.

A good business name leads to a good domain. A good domain forms good foundation for effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Effective Search Engine Optimization gets your company found over and over online.

In the wake of the LA Clippers’ owner, Mr. Donald Sterling’s, ban from the NBA, some are suggesting a name change for the team. From a crisis management perspective, here are three reasons the new owners need not change the team’s name.

1. With the expulsion of the principal, Mr. Sterling, any threat to the LA Clippers brand is over.
2. The LA clippers brand is stronger as a result of the crisis.
3. Lastly, it’s a new day in LA. Now is the time for those sponsors who left, to return and start gaining from the Clippers’ new public goodwill.

Actively listening is ONE CRITICAL COMMUNICATION SKILL FOR NEW AND RISING PR PROFESSIONALS:
Actively listen to incoming communication to appreciate what is communicated. Actively listen to outgoing communication to gauge how what one communicates may be received.

Contrary to popular misconceptions, apologizing in a conflict as what we just witnessed in Ukraine is neither a sign of admission of guilt nor a sign of weakness. It is in the spirit of community preservation. The unexpected outcome may be greater national unity as a result.

In good times or bad, like in a crisis, your organization’s Spokesperson represents your organization, creating or reenforcing its public image. Choose wisely:

Find someone good looking and articulate; someone with knowledge of your organization and its stakeholders; someone who speaks the native dialect and preferably with distinct local accent. Remember BP CEO, Tony Hayward, a Briton, serving as Spokesperson during the 2010 Gulf Oil-Spill Disaster near Texas?

Ever heard the phrase, Search Engine Optimization or SEO? It is simply an online publicity plan for your website. Done right, it saves cost with online marketing, improving your odds for online success. A good SEO starts with finding a great domain for your business. One with your products or services as keywords in it! Example. If you offer chemistry tutorial. Try smithchemistrytutorial dot com. Know what folks Google search when looking for chemistry tutorial? You guessed it.

Folks, please watch.
This is how to turn perceived weakness into strength, and gain the upper hand!

Not endorsing or anything, just acknowledging.
But, for those keeping score on who is up or down for the 2016 presidential race, you read it here first. Put your money on Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ). He will be formidable. Ironically, Christie’s weight, and “publicly losing it” in the presidential run, may turn out to be his biggest asset. No pun intended!

In PR as in life, IMAGE IS EVERYTHING! For that reason, I’m almost tempted to apologize on behalf of Mitt Romney’s meeting planners and PR people for staging this “major economic speech” in an all but empty football stadium. The optics was awful!

Meeting planners understand the power of image in choosing meeting location. What lingers in conversations long after the meeting, good or bad, are usually the impressions about the location. A place at the beach, a standing-room only event, a location next to train tracks, and so on.

Any wonder, then, why no one is talking about the content of Mr. Willard M. Romney’s “major economic speech?” Simple. It was all about the optics of a nearly completely empty stadium, because in PR and in life, Image is everything!

As a Crisis Management Consultant, I have never seen a brand so utterly self-destruct in a 24-hour period in what I call an unforced error. The Komen well-crafted brand, at the least, is tainted. At worst, it is damaged. Rebuilding this brand from the ground up is in order. In the seven days from when the story hit, my analysis of News story about Komen have revealed nothing but negative. Worse, most who had never known of Komen until this story have an unfavorable view of this great organization. Can this brand be saved? Yes, and it should. Apologizing was a very good first step. Karen Handel resigning was another good step on this long road to recovery.

DON’T WASTE A GOOD CRISIS
Komen can utilize this crisis to fix what internally may have created this major snafu, which now threatens this organization’s very existence. Will the entire board resigning do the trick? Symbolically, it may. But restoring a damaged organization reputation demands more than symbolism. It needs a structural reload, beginning with revisiting and possibly overhauling the organization’s mission and/or raison d’etre.

To say that Susan G. Komen received public flogging for its Planned Parenthood defunding will be an understatement. Its reputation may have, at the very least, sustained long term damage. With a public apology, however, they have taken the first and most important step in repairing their image.

With this Komen’s defunding crisis, Planned Parenthood has an opportunity to educate the public on what it really does; and refute its detractors’ claim that all it does is provide women with abortion.

As a disclaimer. Besides my interest in this story as a Crisis Management Consultant, as a husband, and a father of two daughters. I’m interested in any discussion about women’s health

As it turns out, abortion is just 3% of what Planned Parenthood does. Please click on the link below. Read the chart and share.

One may never know conclusively the reason for the Susan G. Komen’s Planned Parenthood defunding. What’s clear, however, is this Hurricane Category 1 PR mess may churn in the warm waters of today’s social media until it reaches a Category 5 strength obliterating everything in its path including the very foundation of the organization called Susan G. Komens.

To me these failures show irresponsibility. They also show the mockery these people have made of running for POTUS, the highest office in the land. Other than a strategic calculation to skip some states, how does any serious candidate actually FAIL to qualify for any state ballot regardless the “hurdles?” How does Newt Leroy Gingrich fail to qualify for his own state’s ballot?

As I predicted when the first accuser spoke on television about Hermann Cain’s harassment, Mr. Cain is done. He says he will endorse another candidate. See below for my referenced Facebook post.

CRISIS ALERT! Herman Cain Will Hold A News Conference at 5pmET Tuesday.–NBC News. Written on November 7, 2011

A little late. However, if true, it’ll be the first good crisis management move Mr. Cain has made since his sexual harassment troubles began. The fact is, these allegations and accusers will not go away. Reporters, like sharks, smell blood in the water. They too, are going no where.

Unfortunately, Mr. Cain lost control of the issue the moment he chose denial, pontification, and evasiveness as his preferred crisis management tactics.

To have any chance of changing subjects and focusing on his 9-9-9- tax plan or anything else, he must be prepared to answer all reporters’ questions at the presser until there are no more left. Either way, he may have taken a serious body blow this afternoon from which he may not fully recover.

Dear ignorant nutjobs, HAND GESTURES ARE NOT UNIVERSAL!
Your hateful comments here show your level of ignorance. Hate to break this to you, but the middle finger isn’t a universal gesture for disrespect or hate. Sometimes it’s the thumb, such as when “thumbing a ride.” Sometimes it’s a fist. Other times it’s the V sign, such as for victory sign, but turned backward. How do you know what this newscaster was implying with her gesture? Sincerely, people outside the US.Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

In his piece, Mr. Forbes compares today’s News Corp’s phone hacking crisis with Mr. Rupert Murdoch’s company’s excessive debt and almost certain bankruptcy about twenty years ago. In that crisis, Mr. Murdoch was said to have successfully applied tools of crisis management, survived, and even thrived.

Where I beg to differ with Mr. Forbes, however, is that this is different. More than finances or money, this “Mother of all CRISES” damages his most important asset, his BRAND.

Comparing the pre-internet, pre-blogs and pre-twitter excessive debt and bankruptcy “crisis,” twenty years ago, to today’s potentially felony phone hacking crisis, is comparing apples and oranges. True, the bankruptcy case may have been tough, managing its fallout, however, was straightforward. It had the key elements necessary for a successful crisis management.

It had exigency, a clearly defined crisis brought about by Mr. Murdoch’s company’s excessive debt and subsequent potential for bankruptcy. It had a leader of the conglomerate, Mr. Murdoch himself, willing to get into the “trenches” and make things right. In addition, there were heads of banks and other financial institutions with whom to communicate, ask forgiveness, and negotiate modified payment terms, and so on. This set of people had just one common interest: to ensure they got paid what was owed to them so they don’t lose their investments. Indeed, according to Mr. Forbes, Mr Murdoch met with them, acknowledged the seriousness of the issue and committed to fix what was wrong, and voila!

Unfortunately, unlike the bankruptcy crisis, this crisis has too many moving parts; too many competing interests, with too many possible outcomes. The scandal’s reaches are too long, too wide and too deep for a quick crisis resolution. Worse, it is ongoing with almost no end in sight. To say nothing of feeding frenzy from competitors who would like nothing than seeing Murdoch’s Media Empire fall.

Can Mr. Murdock survive and thrive financially? Yes. This write-up, however, is about something much more than money. It is about the risk to his BRAND. With these endless investigations, in the end, Rupert Murdoch’s BRAND may be irreparably damaged whether or not he is cleared of any wrongdoing.

Emmanuel A. Smart is President of Smart Expressions, a Strategic Public Relations and Corporate Communication firm based in Houston, TX; He teaches strategies, tactics and tools of communication, offering onsite and monthly public seminar, consulting and design services. More information, visit http://www.smartexpressions.com

“We have re-signed Michael Vick as a Nike athlete,” Megan Saalfeld, a Nike spokeswoman, confirmed to CNN in an e-mail.
With those nine words, Michael Vick has come full circle in his image restoration just as I predicted when he first went to prison. Read more here.

Unless CBS has become a monastery in the few weeks since, the Network must find a way to bring Charlie Sheen back into its fold, and FAST!

Employing the power of the new social media, Sheen has quickly returned the luster to his supposedly damaged brand, thereby rewriting the rules of PR. This isn’t how it was supposed to happen.

When CBS fired Charlie Sheen on March 4, 2011 from the CBS hit show, Two and a half men, following Sheen’s comments that insulted the show’s creator, the calculation was that Sheen was history.

With his well documented “bad boy” image to boot, his firing meant he was damaged goods. From a traditional PR and brand perspective, this narrative sounded true. Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell Charlie Sheen or the millions of followers he quickly garnered the very first day he set up his Twitter account, breaking the Guinness book of world records along the way.

This begs the questions; was Charlie Sheen’s reputation really damaged in the first place? If so, would it be his personal or professional reputation? Could CBS have made a mistake in firing him thinking audiences cared enough about his personal theatrics, and thus would jettison him and the network? Or, importantly, does Sheen’s entertainment value trump his personal shortcomings?

In my opinion, the latter is the case. Sheen is and always has been an entertainment GOLD. He has the pedigree. His record one million Twitter followers explosion in one day proves it. Last I checked, CBS is not a monastery and Sheen was never hired by CBS to become a monk, or for his clean cut image. CBS, therefore, should stop pussyfooting and conclude the rumored renegotiation of Charlie Sheen’s contract, FAST.

In the world of entertainment, audience is King. With Sheen attracting millions of fans, CBS has nothing to lose except the additional new audiences he brings, which other networks would gladly pay top dollar to snatch should CBS balk.

It is Day 43 of the BP Disaster in the Gulf. My first read this morning was that BP has just hired a high profile PR consultant to manage its image while it is accepting responsibility for the worst oil disaster in U.S. history. Meanwhile, the Associated Press just reported this afternoon that the federal government has just announced criminal and civil investigations into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

As a student of PR, specializing in reputation and crisis management, I am interested in how this PR effort will turn out. My take, however, is that BP will need a whole lot more than a PR Consultant.

The fact remains that the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico continues unabated. The disaster it is creating is in full view, thanks to the live cam feed BP was made to install. Thousands, if not millions, are watching their livelihood slowly destroyed with the best hope of stopping this “nightmare” about two months away.

Ethically, and successfully restoring an image or reputation starts when the cause of the crisis has been identified and hopefully stopped. Anything else will likely involve lying, covering up or other forms of unsavory acts.

It is Day 43 of the BP Disaster in the Gulf. My first read this morning was that BP has just hired a high profile PR consultant to manage its image while it is accepting responsibility for the worst oil disaster in U.S. history. Meanwhile, the Associated Press just reported this afternoon that the federal government has just announced criminal and civil investigations into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

As a student of PR, specializing in reputation and crisis management, I am interested in how this PR effort will turn out. My take, however, is that BP will need a whole lot more than a PR Consultant.

The fact remains that the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico continues unabated. The disaster it is creating is in full view, thanks to the live cam feed BP was made to install.

Thousands, if not millions, are watching their livelihood slowly destroyed with the best hope of stopping this “nightmare” about two months away.

Ethically, and successfully restoring an image or reputation starts when the cause of the crisis has been identified and hopefully stopped. Anything else will likely involve lying, covering up or other forms of unsavory acts.

Not sure what speech some so-called “experts” were listening to, but Tiger Woods and his team of PR experts deserve kudos. Woods speech delivery this morning was simply masterful.

Not all crises are the same. All along, I’ve blogged that this crisis is unique and different. Any crisis management strategies employed, therefore, must be unconventional. My full blog post is at mrsmart.wordpress.com

As a PR consultant specializing in Reputation and crisis management, my advice has been that this particular crisis would need thinking outside the box. They’ve created and followed a perfect script.

All elements of crisis management were accounted for in his speech this morning: audience, principal, exigency, method, timing, delivery, message control. The Tiger Woods PR team deserve an A plus in crisis management.

This is a continuing look at Tiger Woods unconventional yet superb crisis management. Please see the first posting here.

As Tiger Woods has chosen to make his first public statement since the scandal that forced him out of the public eyes, many are questioning his PR people and their methods.

What many are expecting is the conventional crisis management approach of a news conference where Tiger Woods meets the press and answers questions directly from them.

However, Mr. Woods crisis management approach is neither traditional nor conventional. So, if they received an A grade for their crisis management planning from me, they deserve an A for execution. Almost all elements of crisis management I touched on in my first post are still intact as they take the first tentative steps for Tiger’s return to the public eyes.

1. The audience to whom he will be speaking—Tiger Woods handpicked those to whom he will be speaking in the room. Besides Mrs. Woods, with whom he spent all these time making atonement, these may be those to whom he owes his legitimacy and feels needed to be talked to directly. By extension, however, he will be speaking to the wider television audience around the world, only they will not be able to turn the event into a circus.

2. Message control—Whatever he decides to say, Tiger Woods is controlling the message. He will be speaking to a captive audience: close friends, business partners, and yes, the world wide audience.

3. The method—A news conference. He will offer a mea culpa, an apology and discuss whatever he so wishes, but will not take any questions.

4. The timing—It has been nearly three months. He is holding this event on a Friday, a traditionally slow news day or “news dump” day, however one looks at it.

5. The principal—Mr. Woods, himself will speak on his own behalf. Nothing begins to bring closure than hearing from the principal person in the crisis. Not his lawyers, publicists or what have you.

6. Pre-crisis reputation—Tiger Woods had a stellar reputation before the crisis. His pre-crisis reputation provides him a reservoir of goodwill from which he can draw as he embarks on his come-back journey. Despite his transgression, Mr. Woods still has a strong base of support. Few of his fans turned against him. For that matter, only few sponsors out rightly severed business ties with him.

There is hardly a downside to these tentative steps Tiger Woods is planning to take with the planned event. And, at the end of the day, Mr. Woods would have accomplished what he set out to do: Address the scandal in public; discuss it his way by controlling the message; and taken that crucial important first step towards fully returning to the public arena and professional golfing.

Emmanuel A. Smart is President of SMART EXPRESSIONS, a Strategic Public Relations and Corporate Communication firm based in Houston, TX.
Mr Smart ‘s expertise is in crisis management. He specializes in building, leveraging and protecting individuals and organizational image and reputation. Mr. Smart is available for media interviews. For more information, call 713-834-4138, email: esmart@smartexpressions.com or visit http://www.smartexpressions.com

In managing a crisis, conventional wisdom commands to talk to the media as quickly as possible, tell what you know, tell it all and promise more as soon as more information is known. As Tiger Woods copes with what he calls his “personal failings,” his one car accident on November 27, 2009 at his estate, some have suggested he employs the conventional wisdom of crisis management. See Magic Johnson on Larry King, December 4, 2009.

Tiger Woods has so far resisted, choosing instead to employ an unconventional approach for which, in my opinion, he deserves an A grade in crisis management.

All crises are not the same. This one especially is particularly unusual. Managing it successfully therefore will require thinking outside the proverbial box. Whatever techniques employed must take into account the exigency, the principal(s) involved, the audience, the relations, method, and the kairos. Knowingly or unknowingly his approach has these six basic elements, helping him earn an A grade:

1. The exigency: A so-called crisis, which compels some response from someone. Is there really an exigency or a crisis?
There’s only a crisis if the principal stands to lose legitimacy and benefit he enjoyed from his most important audience or public. It is this same public from whom he will seek and receive forgiveness and reputational restoration.
Woods, in his statement on his website, has correctly identified the exigency: personal failings, issue with his wife; accident involving public property, namely fire hydrant, and tree in a neighbor’s yard.

2. The Principal: Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods has enormous reservoir of goodwill from the public the world over. He is intensely private. Other than speaking to the media after one of his numerous golf tournament wins, Tiger Woods does not do media interviews. No one knows his political views or his religious thinking. To whom does he then ask forgiveness? Who therefore would grant him such forgiveness? If so, what does the general public granting Tiger Woods forgiveness mean?

3. The audience. There is an audience of ONE! Mrs. Tiger Woods. So far, there is only a personal failing. His approach has been to isolate, and lock himself up with his most important public and try to work out his personal failing and issues in their marriage.
Any public acknowledgement or statement will be a mistake. A public statement will expand the audience to include the broader public whose only interest is in the juiciness of the story of possible infidelity of Mr. Tiger Woods, and possible problem in his marriage. There’s absolutely no reason to meet the press and talk to any other audience? Most people like Tiger Woods, not because of his morality, but because of his prowess on the Golf course. With time and more wins, the audience will forget about his personal failings.

4. The relations. The relationship to his most important audience is marriage. It is this audience that has been wronged. It is this audience he must seek forgiveness. It is this audience that has the power to grant forgiveness, restore his benefits and make Tiger Woods whole again.

5. The method: His method of communicating he has chosen has been his website. Granted, it is the proverbial drip, drip; the very worst way to deliver a message in a conventional crisis management, he has written about his “personal failing,” suggesting he is not perfect. With this method, he has managed to control what he says to his fans which include this writer.

6. The kairos. The timing and measure of response.
Friends and so-called experts are calling for Mr. Woods to talk to the media, own up to his failings and “be done with it.”

He has chosen instead to hold off and only write generically about the issue on his website. He has cancelled appearing in the next tournament. With possible scar on his face, possibly from his wife’s blow, meeting the media will only serve to further sensationalize the issue and worsen the issue. Besides, no one knows the extent of Tiger Woods’ involvement with other women. Probably, not even Tiger Woods. Who knows what other woman may soon come out? How will he answer that inevitable question, are you involved with any other woman?

Is it just me or is the GOP trying too hard to recover too quickly from the back-to-back beating of the last election cycles? In my opinion, they need a long time out to regroup.

If the GOP needed more compelling reason to take time out, it came in Governor Bobby Jindal’s GOP response to president Obama’s masterful address to the joint congress last night. From my stand point, that speech and its deliverer fell flat, with no discernable pluses for the GOP, whatsoever.

Loses as they have experienced are not all bad. In fact, they may serve a necessary corrective purpose. The party has ideas, but I call what they have done so far, knee-jerk reactions.

First they select Michael Steel as chairman, pro-affirmative action, pro-DC statehood, minority in an all white party. Okay, an almost all-white party. Then, Steele comes up with a pledge to turn the GOP into a hip-hop party. Give me a break.

These knee-jerk reactions, in my opinion, are only further damaging their already tainted brand, giving the president kudos and increasing his approval rating. Further, it serves to prolong the GOP time in the political wilderness.

Secondly, the GOP congressmen and women vote zero on the stimulus and have the nerves to celebrate that as an accomplishment. Their alternate solutions? The same “brilliant” tired, worn out and rejected tax-cut solutions to all financial ills!

My advice.
I’m sure they don’t want my suggestions. But I’ll give it anyway.
Other than what they have done so far, I think they should lay low, really regroup, while hoping the Dems screw up very badly. While lying low, they should spend time formulating a better message of who they are and what they intend to do for the citizens if given another chance in the majority. Then, just maybe the electorate will give them another look. While in that reflective mood, they should seriously consider pragmatism. It isn’t a bad word, you know?

The GOP need to stop while this brand can still be salvaged. The public is well served when there is more than one equally respectable view on issues. But the emphasis here is on respectable view.

This post is in response to The Hartford Courant’s article today, November 15, 2008
It is titled Secret Ballot To Decide Lieberman’s Fate. By Jesse A. Hamilton.

The Dems didn’t quite get to the 60 super majority senate seats in the election.
As I wrote in this blog on October 26, please see below; that’s why the wringing
of hands on what to do about Lieberman, today.

There were indications last week that, like Bill Clinton, Obama wanted Joe Lieberman
to be left alone. This secret ballot, if true, however, gives his colleagues cover to
voice what they truly thought of Lieb’s shenanigans during the 2008 GOP convention.

No one questioned his friendship of McCain; or try to stop him from supporting his
Friend. But, he knows, or should know, he crossed the line with some of his comments,
especially during his speech at the convention.

Democrats can say they deserve a say on whether or not Lieb stays, because while Lieb
was off doing his thing, they can say they worked extremely hard for their victory.

Plus, they can do it without seeming to contradict the new president-elect’s wish. In
addition, if successful, it may be the first Obama veto override.

Ironically, Sarah Palin’s geography, being thousands of miles away; and in a far-away time zone, may be her best asset.

Now that she is home, she can lay low for now, avoid the media as much as possible, while learning basic civic lessons she appeared not to know. If she has any future national political ambition, this is the time to get coaching by the best minds she can put together. Lord knows she needs help.

The country knows enough about her now than she can reasonably expect to improve on or correct with constant back and forth with opponents in the airwaves. Palin risks further damage to her image. She has supporters in the lower 48 who can speak on her behalf and, if necessary, respond to things that need responding to.

Hopefully better prepared, in about a year or two, just in time for the 2010 election season, she can re-emerge with media interviews. She can start on Larry king Live, get on David Letterman, etc. After that, she can then go on FOX, CNN, and the like. That’s how she can be ready for 2012 if she is interested.

As were evident during the 2008 election, short empty sound bites lost out to well thought-out ideas. Gone are the days when the intellectually challenged could just wing it in our government, and a lack of curiosity almost a badge of honor.Originally posted as a comment by E_in_Houston_TX on Political Wire using Disqus.

Except for some die-hard Senator John McCain (R-AZ) supporters, in denial, voters from all political persuations have concluded that Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) will be elected 44th president of the United States of America. Let’s see.

Polls after polls, beginning about September 20, 2008, have shown an electoral college number between 273 and mid 300’s for the Obama/Biden Ticket. It takes 270 to win the presidency.

In response, I wrote on October 13, 2008, on this blog, suggesting that McCain should quit and just walk way. I thought then, as I still do, that it was just not meant to be. Plus, it would save the GOP brand from further damage.

As I write this post, this Nov 4, the Obama/Biden ticket has maintained its lead nationally, even expanding on some battleground state polls. Electoral College counts have remained at or above 300.

Congressional contests have greatly expanded. Some hitherto safe GOP congressional seats have become vulnerable, forcing the GOP to spend money in states they usually take for granted, a testament to the precariousness of the GOP brand. Why then are Democrats apprehensive? Fear of Success? Here are my five possible reasons. I’m sure readers may have more.

The country has never been here before.

Democrats have come so close to winning the presidency before, and somehow lose.

The country has never been asked to vote for a non-white candidate before.

The country has never stood so precariously at the threshold of earth-shattering choice for change or status quo.

African Americans’ participation has never been so valuable to the outcome of a presidential contest.

In spite this trepidation, though, this country will find the courage to elect Barack Obama 44th president of the United States of America.

This post is an expansion of my response on politico.com on October 31, 2008. It was titled Dole blasts Hagan again over ‘Godless’ fundraiser. If, as polls show, Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) loses her reelection bid today, Nov. 4, she can trace it back to the ad she ran; and repeated, and which the people of NC rejected.

I am a born again Christian; a former registered Republican. I changed my political affiliation precisely because of this sought of slash and burn politics. And, because I was sick and tired of Christians living against the teaching of Christ in the name of politics.

Having lived in NC during the days of Jesse Helms, I ‘m not the least bit surprised at Dole’s ads. Straight from her party’s worst playbook, she’s fighting dirty to hang on to her seat. But what for? Let’s see. 1. She spent just 13 days in a year, in her home state of NC; a mere four hours drive, give or take, from Washington, DC! Much shorter with a plane ride. 2. She has been so ineffective in her stewardship of that seat. She forgets it’s not her right but a privilege given by the people of NC. What has she done for them since she was elected? Any bacon? Not hardly. 3. She headed the GOP senatorial election committee in 2006; lost so badly she was removed. 4. Is this seat worth so much she is willing to destroy someone else, and sell her soul to keep it?

Who is Elizabeth Dole to judge another Christian? Who is she to accuse State Senator Kay Hagan, a Presbyterian, and Sunday School Teacher, for being Godless. Shame on Mrs. Dole. I’m glad the good people of NC have seen through your nonsense, and will send you back to your husband in Kansas. He’s been advertising a product I’m sure you both can use right about now.

She held on as long as she could. But, she died with a smile on her face, having seen and heard the manifestation of all she put into her grandson. My condolence to the Obama family for this great loss.

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) may have gambled one time too many and stands to lose big time.

More than the GOP, one person fearing, and praying against a Democratic super majority in the senate is Senator Lieberman. His choices are stark. If McCain wins, he can choose any cabinet position he wants in a McCain administration and not worry about his senate seat. What gives him heartburn, however, is the looming earthquake in the senate contests that threatens to dramatically alter the setup in the senate, and thus his fortunes.

Though once a Democratic stalwart, towing the party line for nearly two decades, and only breaking strikingly with the party on the Iraq war, Lieberman is in a precarious position with the Democratic Party.

In 2000, while running for vice president on the Democratic Party ticket with Al Gore, Lieberman simultaneously successfully campaigned for his senate reelection. He took the weekends off from presidential campaigning because of the Jewish Sabbath. That may have been agreed upon before he was invited to join the ticket. When they lost the presidential election, Lieberman calmly returned to the senate, with no tinge of scar to his standing with the Democratic Party or the American people. Fast forward 6 years to his 2006 senatorial reelection bid.

Because of his strong support of the Iraq war, he lost the Democratic Party senate nomination, but ran and won as an Independent. What was the Democratic Party’s answer? Nothing. In fact, the Democrats kept, and actually rewarded him with the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee chairmanship position. Despite rumbling from Democratic voters, the leadership balked. He will caucus with, and help them maintain their tiny majority in the senate.

Sensing he has the Democratic Party, as McCain would say, “just where he wants them,” Lieberman decided to take his gamble to another level.

Throughout the 2008 election, he has not only voiced his support for his friend John McCain, the Republican Party’s standard bearer, he actively campaigned on his behalf to Jewish voters especially in Florida, a battleground state. He also gave a speech at this year’s Republican convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. In his convention speech, Lieberman served as an attack dog, sharply criticizing his former party’s nominee, Barack Obama, much to the chagrin of Democratic leadership and voters. This speech may have been the last straw.

Analysis
If McCain wins the presidency, Lieberman wins. He gets to choose any cabinet position he desires, thus may not need his senate seat. If Democrats increase their majority less than the super majority, say 59 or less, Lieberman stands to keep his seat and his chairmanship. If, as it is increasingly looking probable, they get to 60 or more, Democratic leaders would have no choice but to show Mr. Lieberman where to sit and with whom NOT to caucus in the next congress. What would be worse is its symbolism.

Lieberman will have to face not only his former colleagues in the chambers but his constituents, having lost his seniority and now his chairmanship because he chose to do his own thing one time too many. That’s why Lieberman prays for a McCain win and a Democratic less-than-super majority senate win.

But, is it just me or have Republicans and their voters always been so less informed than the rest of the country? GW still has 73 percent approval rating with republicans, for crying out loud!

To hear elected officials, Ms Palin is believed to be inteligent, and “a breath of fresh air.” Like Bob Hayes (R), NC says, it’s the media that’s after her.

Some are even arguing that should McCain not win, she will be the new face of leadership in the GOP. This begs the questions.

Has anyone seen where she participated in a round table and articulated her positions? Did I miss her policy presentation anywhere?Originally posted as a comment by E_Houston_TX on Political Wire using Disqus.

No one sends money to a candidate’s campaign unless they are in support. Just 14 days from election, with attitudes crystalizing, few will attend a candidate’s campaign unless they indeed plan to vote for the candidate–Emmanuel A. Smart

This picture and the news of Obama’s whopping $150 million fund raising number tell the story. Click on the picture to view. Continued below.

Obama speaks to the largest crowd of supporters yet

On October 13, I wrote about the country’s economic woes and superb campaigning by the Obama’s team trumping so-called Bradley effect. Two specific events this past weekend help seal this thinking. On Saturday, the Obama’s campaign released their September fund raising total, a whopping $150 million dollars and Obama speaks to 100,000 people in Missouri, the largest crowd before whom he’s ever spoken in the US. Check out the crowd. Case close.

In contrast, Obama has just raked in $150 million in one month to spend as he wishes!

RNC, 527’s and built-in loop holes in the MCain-Feingold finance reform bill will make little or no difference.

As I wrote in this blog on June 20, 2008 on Obama’s announcement that he was rejecting public financing, this was the real reason FOXNoise and the right wingers were squealing like pigs. That fear, indeed, has materialized. I don’t know where McCain can find help. Maybe he should consider abandoning the whole thing and just walk away. Talk about being caught between a rock and a very hard place.

First, the RNC has congressional seats to try to protect; besides, they will not take over McCain’s campaign. Secondly, 527’s on the right are matched by those on the left. Thirdly, McCain is barred from raising any more money for his campaign because of the limit that comes with accepting the $84.1 million public financing.

McCain is in the worst position anyone can possible find himself. With 2 weeks to go, an eternity in politics, he is staring at a well-oiled, well funded, deciplined Obama’s political machine that is just revving up. I wonder if waving the white flag of surrender is allowed in presidential elections? hm?

Comparison of the election which gave us the so-called Bradley effect and this one is like comparing apples to oranges, literally.

Since the beginning of the general election in June 2008 between Senators Barrack Obama and John McCain, various scenarios have been explored to gauge who would emerge the winner in November. The fact is that the country has never had any election like this in its 232 years. Suffice it to say nothing in our past can serve as model for predicting the result of this one. Several critical factors contribute to this uncertainty.

1. This is the first time in recent memory where an incumbent with such low approval rating, 23% according to the latest polling today, is not running for reelection.

2. Economic paralysis including big banks failure, credit freeze, home foreclosure, personal incomes down, stock market in a nosedive, massive job loss across the country; plant closings especially in the industrial regions of the country; general atmosphere of economic fear gripping the nation.

3. A genuine war hero, Caucasian senator with over 26 years in congress, running as one party nominee.

4. The other party’s nominee, an inexperienced Senator; Harvard educated; African American, running as best a presidential election campaign as has been witnessed before.

5. An unpopular war with the war hero supporting its continuation howbeit as long as necessary to “achieve victory,” and the African American against it from the beginning, and wants a quick end to it.

6. The first time a candidate has refused public financing, financing his campaign exclusively from small donations from millions of ordinary citizens across the country, and American citizens in the Diaspora.

7. Most polling show leads of two to 12 percentage point advantage for the African American, Barrack Obama; an identical domination in the Electoral College map for the senator.

Bradley effect
With this near one-sided polling, almost three weeks to the election, discussions have turn to possible Bradley effect as a way for McCain to still pull out an improbable win despite the odds. Bradley effect was coined from a contest in which polls showed former Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, with 65 percent support while running for the governor of California in 1982. He lost the election by a close margin. Caucasians, who had previously voiced support for Bradley, voted for his opponent on Election Day instead, thus supposedly costing him the election.
This time, the outcome will be different. Here is why.

1. The base of Mayor Bradley support was African American, mostly from Los Angeles where he was mayor, with a population only a fraction of that of the state of California at that time.

3. Obama’s campaign has been run in way that transcends race; is populist with a broad coalition of voters from all socioeconomic levels.

4. He appears calm even in the midst of economic turbulence.

5. Without public financing, he is free to raise and spend as much as he wants to. This advantage has been evident in his disproportional television advertisement in key battleground states.

Reverse Bradley effect.
In a reverse Bradley effect, there may actually be more Caucasians who are closet Obama supporters. They would vote for Obama in the privacy of the voting booth than openly sharing with their neighbors their support for Obama.

Obama may win in a blowout.
This election will be won or lost based on Obama’s performance. If he loses it will be close. If he wins, it will be a blowout.

Unless, God forbid, something catastrophic happens in the country between now and Nov 4 and, somehow, John McCain becomes the savior to whom everyone looks to rescue us, and thus turn out en mass and vote for him in place of barrack Obama, this election is all but over for john McCain. This POW can use the rest. It just wasn’t meant to be.

The acknowledgment of the 6 point deficit in National polling this morning, and the resignation in John McCain’s campaign manager’s voice on NPR’s Morning edition spoke volumes. True, Steve Schmidt gave us the talking points of the campaign as any campaign manager should. True, we technically have three weeks before Nov. 4, the actual voting day, but I think McCain is resigned to this inevitability and may just be counting the days until the end of campaigning. My summation is thus.

Forget what the media is saying. This thing may not be as close after all. The ground to make up for the McCain’s campaign is almost insurmountable:

Just when the McCain’s campaign appears to be out of synch in message and tactics, the opponent appears to be tightening up and getting better organized for the sprint to the finish line.

On a weekend when McCain is hunkered down for debate prep, the opponent brings in even “bigger guns” to campaign in must-win states of FL, PA and OH. Meanwhile, the once shoo-in for VP, Florida governor Charlie Crist will campaign for McCain in Florida (if he has the time).

Other GOPers are jumping ship with no big guns going to bat for him in any of the so-called battleground states

The opponent’s money-on-hand advantage

Polling numbers that would not just budge, at least in a less favorable direction for the opponent, not to mention favorability ratings

Thirty minutes block prime-time purchases on two National network, with two more in discussion on October 29, just less than one week before the national election.

Etc, etc, etc.

Negative attacks
Several articles, today, and from the weekend imply that the McCain’s negative attacks on Obama have boomeranged and actually hurt John McCain politically. Several polls in the past few days bear that out. As if to underscore this very point, McCain was forced to defend Barrack Obama in Wisconsin on Friday when a supporter called Obama an “Arab.” Further, the campaign has largely stayed on the issues with little or none of the vicious attacks of the past 10 days or so from the candidate or his running mate.

Nothing left to say
These articles also suggest that John McCain has some solutions for the ills of the country he has eschewed in place of the negative campaign he has run. The truth is that as seen in the debates, he has said all he has wanted to say. Nothing more is left in the tank. Think about it. The dominant issue is the economy and its rapidly changing circumstances to which few have answers. McCain, based on his admission, doesn’t know “as much as I should” about the economy. So, case closed.

Couple that with the fact that he checked his independent endearing credentials, even to this writer, and instead espoused too much right wing ideas in a poorly run campaign, McCain may just be counting the days to the end of campaigning so he can get some much needed rest. This POW can sure rest his aching feet.

In 2000, Al Gore waited till the very end, when he became desperate, to invite Bill Clinton to campaign for him. In 2004, Kerry sought and received a wholehearted endorsement of the former president complete with full-trotted campaigning. Somewhere in between lays the Obama expectations. My suggestions? Make phone calls; cut some ads, and rest, Mr. President. I understand.

Several headlines in the media appear to suggest the Obama campaign and, indeed, the public are expecting some form of public pronouncement from the 42nd president of the United States on behalf of Barack Obama’s candidacy. Clinton never mentioned Obama’s name on Jon Stewart-Chris Rock. Clinton hesitant to call Obama “a great man” as he did with Mccain-The New York Post; etc, etc.

Suddenly, reports are indicating Clinton will campaign for Obama in Florida on wednesday. I love Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton is a great man. But I believe too much is expected from a man whose wife was beaten by Obama in such a hotly contested primary. Since losing his reelection as governor of Arkansas a long time ago, he has been on a winning streak. This lose may hurt deeper than we know.

So, as far as I’m concerned, he need not bother. Waiting until almost 30 days before the election to “go out and campaign in earnest” for Obama, in my opinion, appears coerced and maybe a little too little too late. After the conventions, the first debate and the trickery of John Mccain, I think voter’s positions are crystallizing. I mean is any Puma really on the fence, and needs the president’s speech to come home and vote democratic? Is any republican out there expecting some nudging from Bill Clinton to vote democratic?

Body language
I know every bit helps, but of what use is it when Mr. Clinton’s body language and rhetoric in interviews after interviews since the convention say his heart is really not in campaigning for Obama at least openly beyond what he had to do at the convention?

Mr. Clinton spoke so eloquently at the convention, making a case for change. I think that should suffice. In the speech, he unequivocally endorsed the presidency of Obama and implored Hillary’s supporters, yes 18 million of them, pumas included, to support and work to elect Obama. That, to me, was enough. Especially, I do not want anyone blaming Mr. Clinton if Obama loses, or giving him too much credit if he wins.

The FBI is supposed to be impartial and non-political in its discharge of its duties. I believe that’s what FBI director James Comey was attempting to show in his announcement yesterday. It landed like a bomb in the 11th hour in this hotly contested presidential election.

After constant berating from the GOP since July, and later by Mr. Donald trump, the GOP nominee, because he declined to charge Mrs. Hillary Clinton for only God knows what, Mr. Comey wanted to show his impartiality and do “the right thing.” For the GOP, yesterday, he did the right thing.

With that, Comey is once again the darling of the right. Mr. Trump changed his tune. He now calls the federal system not as rigged as he thought.

I’M HAPPY.

For that, I’m happy for my brothers and sisters, Trump’s supporters. They get another crack at Hillary Clinton’s e-mail “investigation.”

This begs the question. Would the GOP accept director Comey’s finding this time if he comes back with the same conclusion that he did in July, and not indict Hillary Clinton for her e-mails?

To be sure, for Hillary’s supporters, the timing couldn’t be worse. The media didn’t help matters.

All day the media reported wrongly that the FBI is reopening Hillary’s e-mail investigation giving her supporters unnecessary anxiety.

However, I think they too are overreacting. Reread the letter.

Director Comey just made a mistake in wording his letter and possibly its timing. The letter simply says the FBI is REVIEWING new set of e-mails they just found from a laptop and may be tied to Hillary Clinton. This laptop happens to belong to Hillary’s staff, who just happens to have been married to ex-congressman Anthony Weiner, whom they are really investigating. They want to see if there’s anything worth opening an INVESTIGATION further into Hillary’s e-mails. That’s all.

For Hillary’s supporters, take a deep breath. I think this is akin to hitting a speed bump on your way to your destination.