Presidential Communication

A serious president does not Twitter, Facebook or stage rambling press conferences. A serious leader plans his thoughts meticulously, sorts them out, expands on them, connects them with other topics, and generally develops a mature vision of his/her own direction forward.

Serious communication starts with preparation. Then the written word.

The written word becomes the bedrock documentation of what is said going forward. Speeches are created from that platform. So too, press conferences that have purpose and direction.

Today, the ‘president’ tweets his thoughts, quips and bon mots. He trammels foes constantly. He depicts people as good or bad. Little substance is provided; just opinion and spin.

Press conferences hosted by the Press Secretary were abandoned many months ago. For all intents there is no press secretary. One wonders who is the actual Director of White House Communications? There seems to be no one in charge but the occupant of the oval office.

People are missing in formerly trusted positions of authority – UN Ambassador, Press Secretary, National Security Advisor, CIA Director, FBI Director, Attorney General, and others – making coherent policy statements scarce. The only one speaking is the ‘president.’ And his word is not trustworthy. His persona is that of a TV Talking Head. And we mostly don’t trust them anymore, either.

All of this leads to the inevitable conclusion that there is no one in charge of anything in the Executive Branch.

It is time the media accept this and cover the Washington DC story in another manner. Giving the ‘president’ face time is a mistake. It only deepens the abyss of misstated communication. It is mumble and bumble only. It is a TV reality show gone horribly wrong. Its skin of pretense is breached. The rent is about to be fully ripped open.

We are now in crisis mode. Firmly. Who is in charge? Who will step forward? Mitch McConnell is too invested in his own ego and conservative agenda to be worth anything. He has accumulated vast riches from his government service; and power. He needs nothing more. And he accomplishes little. So who will take his place in the vacuum of Senate Leadership?

Nancy Pelosi will step forward, a proven leader and organizer. The Supreme Court has a few people who will function as emergency leaders giving our tri-partite form of government a chance to function. It is the Executive Branch that is missing in this three-party schema.

Who will lead from there?  Certainly not Mike Pence. And the Secretary of State is not yet a proven commodity.

Just asking some basic questions. Who has the answers? Isn’t it time to work out the details on what we will do to serve and protect America and her constitution?

February 21, 2019