"Roll out those lazy, hazy,crazy (wet) days of summer..."

Welcome back and Happy 4th to our American friends and Happy Canada Day (belatedly eh?) to our Canadian friends. We enjoyed a terrific day on July 1st - first at an annual get together at our friends' home in the neighborhood, and then we attended the National Arts Centre's Canada Day festivities capped off by the best fireworks display on Parliament Hill that we've ever seen! On July 4th we will be attending America's birthday celebration at the home of the American Ambassador. Even though David Jacobsen has not been confirmed by the Senate, as the new Ambassador, the Party will go ahead, and it's always a highlight of the summer.

Don't Cry for Him Argentina

Well summer craziness is indeed here. I've been busy with seminars, a court case and media consulting contracts, but not nearly as busy as South Carolina's Governor Mark 'I crossed the line' Sanford, who obviously woke up one day and asked himself, "what can I do to throw a nuclear bomb into my family's life and my Administration?" It is such a nightmare that if it wasn't on purpose, then his arrogance and narcissim know no bounds.

Words of advice to Gov. Sanford

A few words of advice to the Governor:
1. If you have to humiliate your wife and kids, then try to limit it to one occasion, not the cascading series of revelations about your other conquests and 'crossing the line'.
2. Don't quote the Bible as you try to convince your Cabinet and the State that deep down you're really a decent guy. You're not and be humble enough to admit it.
3. Leave now and don't let the door hit you...
4. Your wife Jenny did the right thing by not standing beside you in your strange, self-abosrbed admission. Her daily soundbites from behind the wheel of her minivan are so without vengeance and self-pity, and so classy and restrained, that you can never compete sir. And don't even try.

Michael Jackson Media Overkill

Michael Jackson's death is sad on several levels. Clearly he was a musical genius and pop icon. He was also a tragic figure, confused sexually,a boy-man whose lack of a genuine childhood condemned him to a life of perpetually seeking it. Sad. What's almost sadder is the predictable media overkill. Even television newscasts in Canada - local and network - are leading with the Jackson soap opera.

I have long ago given up on the 'urgent vs. important' bias of news media - particularly television - but this saturation rumor-fuelled media fixation says all we need to know about the 'tabloidization' of mainstream media.

However, we only have ourselves to blame as we certainly have the ability to switch the channel or turn it off. For many years now, it's "all the news you WANT to know, instead of you NEED to know" and we have to work harder to be more media literate and to demand from our media outlets that we want them to exercise balance. In the U.K. BBC viewers let the 'Beeb' know that they were angry about the Jackson over-hype. That's a start. I wonder if North American networks have been hit with the same backlash?

I hope you get a break this summer. Maybe we should all agree to switch off the media until they get their act together? Nah! We'll never do it....and they know it!

Until next time, take it easy, be safe and enjoy life. Did I ever tell you, you deserve it?

Check out our website at http://www.mcloughlinmedia.com and if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, I would love to hear from you!

Barry

The Power of Hope

Welcome back!

Here it is - a month after my last post - and I'm finally back in blogging mode. That is the longest I have taken in between, but life has been incredibly busy!!!

Iranian Hope

The mounting anger in Iran and around the world over the stolen er/...disputed election there is a great example of how powerful hope is. Who would have believed that the Iranian people would dare to challenge the Supreme One, the Revolutionary Guardhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif and the Ayatollahs? It is easy for all of us to fall prey to the one-dimensional stereotype of the Iranian people, as it is with so many of these nations that live under the thumb of totalitarian governments.

Note the power of twittering, blogging and video cell phones in getting the messages out, giving hope to their fellow protesters?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w05_-ZY5ZSI


What should the Obama Administration or other countries - Canada included - do about it? Simply put, keep the pressure on and give hope to those who are risking their lives for democracy. They have to do all this without being so overt as to fall into the classic trap that all outlaw governments love....an external enemy - and having America as part of it really puts the icing on the cake.

Meanwhile it could become that first major test of President Obama's foreign policy that Joe Biden had so helpfully predicted during the campaign. He's already had the other member of the 'Axis of Evil' firing off nuclear warheads so it will be interesting to see if the Prez can handle these pests as well as he took care of that fly during the CNBC interview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzgOS8dbF64

Michael Ignatieff...Over-Promising and Under-Delivering

Meanwhile in Canada, the Harper minority government weathered a potential take-down by Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff. Who won the perception battle? In my view, Prime Minister Harper won the showdown. He showed flexiblity in his negotiations with Mr. Ignatieff, without caving in.

The lesson I would take away from that if I were in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition....remember the law of expectations management: under-promise and over-deliver. When Mr. Ignatieff set out the four conditions upon which he would make his decision, he drew a line in the sand. Within hours of his Monday morning news conference he was rapidly erasing that line.

Predicting a Fall 2009 Election

So now where does this leave him? As he managed to negotiate a September 30th Opposition Day to bring down the government, he can't possibly draw another line in the sand. "Oops...okay this time I really really mean it!" Sorry that won't work. So I predict we are facing a September 30th pulling of the plug and a Fall election. The only thing stopping it is if the NDP or the Bloc get cold feet and do a complete back-flip, abandoning their principles in the process.[Of course that's totally unheard of in Canada!]

Father's Day

A belated Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there....and especially to my Dad, J.R.. Although no Dad will ever get a nod from CBC Sunday Morning...this year, in the spirit of recent years, they celebrated Father's Day by barely mentioning it, but devoting a major piece to how millions of women have gone 'missing' over the years. Hey we get that, but how about just a little bit on how important being a Dad is?

On the Road Again....


Last week it was Saskatoon and Toronto. This week it will be Mt. Laurel New Jersey! Life ....and seminars....go on! [Thankfully].

Until next time....remember the Power of Hope!
Barry

On the Road Again.....

May 22, 2009

Welcome back everyone! It's been a long time since I last blogged. In that time, I have been the busiest IN MY ENTIRE LIFE and you know, I've been fairly busy all my life!

Well with North Korea about to follow the insanity of their great imperial leader, Kim Jung II; recovering from the threat of a Major Pandemic; or just the ongoing global economic meltdown, I thought I would catch up instead on what I've been doing.

What have I been up to? Well I'm glad you asked....

I have been busy handling communications for the Oliphant Commission of Inquiry http://www.oliphantcommission.ca
along with being communications counsel for Mayor Larry O'Brien of Ottawa during his current trial on charges related to his 2006 campaign for the Mayoralty of Ottawa. If you want to keep track of what is going on there, a very good blog named city holler will keep you posted accurately. It can be found at:
http://cityholler.blogspot.com

In both cases, the reality of live bloggers and 'tweets' has sped up enormously the reporting and have pushed the media outlets to do a lot more live hits and website updates than ever before. I try to make courtesy and respect to journalists a hallmark of my approach to media relations. I do believe that when it comes to building understanding, one can get more with honey than vinegar.

On top of that, I have managed to work on a communications plan, conducted a number of seminars, and even coached a few political candidates in different cities, so when I say busy.......I mean BUSY!

Springtime in Kiev

We had a fabulous time in the beautiful city of Kiev, Ukraine where Laura and I did three seminars for the Justices and Senior Staff of the Supreme Court, Constitutional Court and High Administrative Court. Although we were translated (magnificently as it turned out) everything went surprisingly seamlessly and the people were a joy to work with. [I could definitely recommend the boutique Hotel Riviera which was modern, well run and ideally situated.] A few days in Frankfurt on the way was a real bonus where we (along with our daughter Caroline] enjoyed exploring Museums - especially the Night of Museums in which all museums stayed open. We walked into one about 10 o'clock at night and there was a great Celtic group! playing terrific Irish music.

The Jewish Museum in Frankfurt
was particularly moving - the story of the organized looting of museums, galleries and over 70,000 Jewish homes. Many were forced to sign over their artworks and prized artifacts to the Nazis. It took decades to get them back. Lest we forget....

Customer Service

Picking up on my 'lousy customer service' themes of some previous blogs, the Senator lounge of Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport could do with a change of attitude. Six hours between flights and 'ze rules are only one guest with Star Alliance Gold member' and no they don't allow one guest to leave and the other replace her...]. So the two strikingly similar Fraus at the 'customer service desk (sic) only obey ze rules. I couldn't help flashing back to Hogan's Heroes and out popped the phrase from my lips 'Yervole'(phonetic).


Speaking of customer service
Remember in one of my earlier blogs when I recounted the tale of trying to get a coffee with milk and the woman serving me was trying to get me to buy a carton of milk, because the ones she had were sour? Well I made a mistake when I said that the cafe at Saskatoon airport was owned by Cara Foods. I got a very nice email from Cara telling me that they do not own that coffee shop and even offered to give me a gift certificate for their high-quality restaurants. Boy did I feel badly! It taught me to yes.....check my sources! [Just like those journalists.....]

Winging my way back home

Following a surprisingly easy flight from Frankfurt to Vancouver (love that northern route) I eventually made it home following a one-day gig out there.

The Street Stops Here, by Patrick J. McCloskey
I recently hosted a book launch for this fabulous tale of a year in the life of a Catholic all-boys high school in Harlem. It has received terrific reviews from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publisher's Weekly and many more. The riveting story of ex-Black Panther -turned Rice High Principal, Orlando Gober and his larger-than-life persona as he grapples with fatherless boys, drugs, hormones and every challenge imaginable to turn the school around and over one-third of them reach the honor roll.
Check it out here:
http://www.amazon.com/Street-Stops-Here-Catholic-Foundation/dp/0520255178/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243047525&sr=1-1


Risk Communications and the Swine Flu
For a great example of what not to do when communicating about risk issues, check out Joe Biden's interview on the Today Show. Note that Matt Lauer asked him a hypothetical question (and he set it up by saying he didn't want to ask him a 'gotcha' question!) it strikes me that the VP just got up too early with not enough sleep. The tip-off was he called Matt 'Sam'!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya8LTeAyCFw



Until next time....
Take care!
Barry

Lessons from the Billy Bob fiasco

April 14, 2009

Hi everyone!
It's been a few crazy weeks - adding up frequent flyer miles from one end of North America to the other. It's great to be home on the Easter long weekend, with time to catch up on this blog. Also it's also one of my favorite weekends for golf. It was Master's weekend. Alright! A little Tiger-Mick battle gave way to a three-way sudden-death play-off for the green jacket. Kenny Perry gave all the older golfer-dreamers (hello?) some hope but faded to Angel Cabrera. You gotta love it! Hey Kenny maybe next year, right?

1. Billy Bob Thornton has left the country! And not a moment too soon.....

Have you seen the Billy Bob Thornton video of his interview on Jian Ghomeshi's 'Q' show on CBC Radio? If you ever had any doubts about spoiled movie stars, then this is must viewing:
http://video.google.ca/videosearch?q=billy+bob+thornton+interview&hl=en&emb=0&aq=3&oq=billy+bob+thornton#

What I found most intriguing was not the puffed-up self importance of Billy Bob [you're no Tom Petty] Thornton. It was the revelation that his 'people had instructed' the CBC producer not to bring up his acting or screenwriting careers. Hhhmmmm. Right there, this was destined to be a collision course, let alone the PR disaster that it became. There are several lessons For a public relations pro (or possibly an agent) saddled with a spoiled brat as a client in situations such as this:

1. A P.R. pro knows you can't demand, but you can ask. This is not a command-and-control relationship. Billy Bob must have been laboring under the illusion that CBC is 'Entertainment Tonight' or one of the numerous showbiz programs which feed off the entertainment industry.

2. Don't make ridiculous 'demands' that make the interviewer sound like an idiot. That would be the shocker that listeners might only know him from his acting and screenwriting career, rather than music. Duh.... [If you have an 'ask' then make the request, but don't make it a demand. In the end, it has to be a win-win].

3. Your client has to be informed that the interview has a purpose, and that is to promote something of benefit to him or her. [in this case, the series of Willie Nelson concerts of which Billy Bob and the Boxmasters were one of the two opening acts! It appeared that Billy Bob thought he was doing the CBC a favor, with no benefit to him!]

4. Figure out if your client needs a short leash with the media. As with clients like Billy Bob, Madonna and Tom Cruise, they cannot just be left to their own devices, because outsize egos ultimately self-destruct.[Tom had fired his long-time publicist just around the time of his jumping up and down on Oprah's couch.It has taken about three or four years for Tom to make the long climb back. Madonna is one more Malawi adoption/get-away escapade from being the showbiz version of Octo-mom.

5. Never let your client insult the customers or the public. Billy Bob had to throw in the towel and cancel his remaining gigs in the land of mashed potatoes without gravy, due to the angry, booing crowd reaction to his prima-donna behavior. Why? He didn't learn anything about his interview performance, and instead of apologizing to the crowd at the concert for insulting Canadians. Then as if to demonstrate his arrogance, made it even worse by calling Ghomeshi an a--hole.

Oh, and Billy Bob? Don't let the exit door hit you and your 'instructions' on the way out.

2. Is it just me?
This is a question I often ask myself as I go through life. Usually it's the small things but I have noticed that people tend to recall the 'second-last' thing I say, not the last thing. My wake-up call at the Saskatoon hotel was an excellent example. At first, I asked for a 5 a.m. wake-up call, but after a brief discussion we agreed that a 4:45 time would be better. So, aware of this 'second-last' recall issue, I repeated to her the 4:45 agreed time. Well, of course the next morning, the call comes in at...5 a.m. Top it off with no hot water in the shower, and that was a signal of the kind of day I was about to have. [Incidentally, without me even asking, the front-desk manager automatically offered to take $100 off my bill. So she rescued what would have been the last time I would have stayed there. I'll be back because she got the importance of rescuing a bad situation.]

So I arrive at the airport and after struggling through the longest line-up at airport security I had ever experienced, arrived at 'Cafe to Go' and ordered a bagel and coffee. Ah...fifteen minutes of serenity to look forward to before boarding. Except....

I go over to the counter where all they have is cream. I go back and ask for some milk instead of cream. The woman points to the refrigerator behind her and says, "oh all of our milk is past the limit, so it's probably sour. So you'll have to have cream." I notice the cartons of milk being sold in front and say, "well I can't take cream; couldn't you open one of those?" She replies, "no those are for sale. You would have to buy one of those."

I'm a bit dumbfounded by this so I say, "I don't think it's fair to make your customers buy a carton of milk in order to have some in their coffee." Of course she replies with the three words I hate to hear from a 'service provider':"That's our policy."

So I put the expired milk in my coffee, and after about ten minutes, I ask her to come over to my table, and say, "do you get what this is all about?" She starts in again about the policy. I say, " no it's not about policy. It's about serving your customers. I find it hard to believe that your owner or manager would want you to charge your customers a carton of milk so they can have fresh milk in their coffee."

She says, "he would fire me if I opened that milk carton and gave it to you." When I asked for the name of her manager, she only knew that her manager is "Jim and he's not in this week." Later I find out that it's owned by Cara, as is most of the airport operations of this nature across Canada.

So Cara, if you're listening, wake up! Don't be the Billy Bob Thornton of the airport monopoly set. If real competition were ever allowed, you wouldn't threaten your employees with firing if they...... dare..... to give fresh milk in your customers' coffee!

Hope you had a great Easter!

Barry

The Wearing of the Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well it truly is a day for the wearing of the green. In honor of Ireland's patron saint, Bono uh...St. Patrick, I am wearing my new green bow tie which I had shipped in from Vermont just in the nick of time!. That's pretty well as far as I go on this day as I am not one for green beer or spending all day drunk in a pub.[Certainly not all day!] Of course, being Irish-born, that is one of the stereotypes one has to face in life. Sigh....

I attended an event on Parliament Hill the other day, courtesy of the Irish Ambassador to Canada, the always impressive Declan Kelly, to recognize the work of the Ireland Fund working to bring closer understanding and support in Northern Ireland to advance peace. It came on the heels of the shooting of two British soldiers and a policeman. The fact that all parties were instantly united in their disgust at those killings tells us that they have come a long way and don't intend to fall back on the bad old days. It looks like whatever those murderers intended has completely backfired on them.

In honor of this special day, check out this YouTube edition of "There's Nothing as Irish as Barack O'Bama", written by Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys. I had sent this on a while ago to a few friends. Good for a laugh as we all cry in our beer for AIG's execs and their bonuses. [On that issue, notice how the White House has finally drawn a line in the sand on what happens to the bail-out money? There is something to be said for the power of public outrage.]

Sing along.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EADUQWKoVek

March is often a crazy month - what with seminars and travel and trying to spend some time on March break with the kids.....I was in Dallas last week for a seminar and managed to take in the Sixth Floor Museum. If you've not seen it, it's well worth it - respectfully done and a sobering reminder of what was and what might have been. Oliver Stone was nowhere to be seen.

Before the end of the month I will be in Newark, New York City, Vancouver and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. So I am bringing lots of reading material with me and next post I will make my reading recommendations.

Quote of the week

My favorite quote this week came from the New York Times, attributed to John Kenneth Galbraith (but apparently was actually from the late Stanford economist Ezra Solomon]:

“The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.”

Hope you get a March break because already 'Spring is in the air'! [Did I tell you that the Irish are eternal optimists?]

Barry

Welcome to Oprah-land...

Welcome back;
It's still winter! Does anyone know what's going on with the weather? This winter's best-before date expired a long time ago, don't you think?
I nearly froze to death in beautiful Chicago last weekend, but I really didn't care - it was worth every minute.

Oprah - the Queen of Television, Elector of Presidents & Taste Maker.... Welcome to Oprah-land!

Laura and I went to the heart of the Obama miracle....Oprah! She first dubbed him 'The One' after all, and he owes her big time. Attending the show gave a fascinating glimpse into how the Oprah brand has been nourished and enhanced to the point where she literally does have the power to influence elections, book sales, consumer products, trends and everything in our popular culture.

Attending an Oprah Taping
Thanks to a friend of ours, who is a friend of Oprah, we arrive at about 10:45 a.m. for Show 'B', which is the afternoon show that tapes at 1 pm. [Show 'A' tapes at about 10 a.m. but ticket holders are advised to show up between 7 and 7:30.] They are considerate- you don't have to wait outside in a long line. Pretty soon we were security wanded [all bags, cameras are held until after the show.

They make full use of fairly tight space for the audience holding rooms. Our names were called at noon, along with about a dozen others. We weren't sure why, but heck who were we to complain? We were given pretty decent seats and soon the studio was filled. I counted about 400 audience members.

Following a pre-show warm-up with a young lady named Stephanie, who rehearsed the audience in the protocols of asking questions [raise your hand; when called stand up and wait for the microphone person to come along; state your name; make your comment or ask your question].

Before we knew it, Oprah was onstage minutes before the show started, telling us about the show [three 'celebrity chefs' which quite honestly I had never heard of because I don't watch the Food Network. Of course I kept quiet about that!] But the audience clearly knew them and they applauded and cheered their every utterance.]

Oprah looked tired and after kibbitzing with the audience in an easy-going manner, told us that she had to speak at a Convention in town immediately following the show, so she would not be available to do her Web-based post show Qs and As with the audience.

It was a fun show and moved quickly. She took a page out of the Obama playbook [you know where you get inundated with emails asking your views on everything and what to do to make your voice heard?] by asking the audience for suggestions on how to give away the phenomenal kitchen set that was being donated to a worthwhile charity. Someone suggested an auction, with the proceeds going to a worthy charity. That seemed to gather favor, but Oprah still hadn't made her mind up as we went back to 'air'.

The two-minute breaks at home for commercials are really about 15 seconds, allowing the show to move right along. And it certainly did!

Of course, many went to the Oprah store, but we didn't as we moved back out to the Windy City.

The Rest of the Story...Paul Harvey, R.I.P.

Speaking of Chicagoans making themselves into "brands" (people such as the late Harry Caray, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Second City, Ann Landers come to mind) Chicago's own Paul Harvey passed away during the weekend. There was a broadcaster who became larger than life - over 1200 stations carried his newscast (and 400 Armed Forces stations) as well as his signature "The Rest of the Story". At age 82 he signed a $100 million dollar 10-year broadcasting deal, so why should he have retired? I know he was corny, but you couldn't stop listening! He'll be missed.

Anyway a great weekend all around in Chicagoland - following a fun seminar on 'Message Development' in Rockford, IL on the Thursday before.

That Recession Just Keeps on Hurtin'....
Check out an interview I did earlier this evening on CTV Ottawa regarding the shut-down of the news programs on Ottawa's 'A' Channel. An outside double-ender in this weather is more of an endurance test, but as you will see the subject of cutting back on local news is on a lot of people's minds.
http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090303/OTT_ANews_Layoffs_090303/20090303/?hub=OttawaHome

What's behind all the News Media Cutbacks?

With the loss of the Rocky Mountain News, San Francisco Chronicle and other major newspapers....newsroom lay-offs in conventional media outlets, what's really behind all this?

I suggest several reasons:

1. The economy has hurt advertising dollars.

2. Local news outlets tend to work this way...the market news leader does disproportionately well in attracting advertiser dollars, and largely hold their own. However, the second, third and fourth market share news programs tend to get disproportionately less advertising support, as most want to put their commercials where the majority of viewers are. However, due to the consistency of audience watching the market leading newscast, advertisers are more sparing with their media buys on that newscast. So even it gets hurt to a certain extent also.

3. Changing demographics and consumer patterns. Younger audiences aren't watching broadcast television nearly as much as their older brothers and sisters of ten years ago. Instead they devote up to four hours a night Face-booking, Twittering or downloading programs, IM etc. They are not watching traditional broadcasts at the time they air (hence the TIVO). That means they can zap out those pesky commercials. Older audiences (25 and over) do watch television but increasingly through TIVO, and increasingly on those pay cable outlets or specialty channels. Their demand for local news in television and print have been flat for years.

4. The cable and satellite providers get almost all the revenue from their subscribers -even though they really don't purchase or produce programming. The conventional broadcasters don't get any of that revenue, and have to rely on advertising instead. The business model appears to be dead. Every 40 years it has to be over-hauled as technology evolves. The broadcasters are pressing for pay-for-carriage so that the playing field can be levelled. Should the ISPs also pay a fee for programs it carries so their subscribers can download? Canada's regulator, the CRTC, is holding hearings right now on the ISP issue and pressure is on them to revisit the pay-per-carriage isue again this year rather than wait until the originially-scheduled 2010 hearings.

Until next time, please, if you must TIVO it or download it, watch the commercial and keep your local broadcasters employed.....

Barry

Obama is here.....govern yourselves accordingly!

Prez departs D.C.

Welcome back everyone!

Today (February 19th) the President has dropped into Ottawa on his first foreign visit and I must say it's a real--oh sorry he's gone. I hope you enjoyed it!

A lot of people in the capital of the Great White North are disappointed that President Obama is having such a short visit. What about skating on the canal? Eating Beavertails (a local delicacy)? Watching a Senators' hockey game? Ahhh gee, eh?

It's important to put this into perspective. That's the great thing about the Canada-U.S. relationship - our closeness. The President can leave after breakfast. Heck he can even whip home for lunch; go back again and be home by supper! Now what other nation can claim that?

The economy is on everyone's mind and with the passage in Congress of the stimulus/reinvestment package and in Canada, with the passage of the Budget how are the media handling the coverage? Also, all around us politicians, athletes, bankers and others are apologizing for their sins and asking for forgiveness. Some work out and some don't. In this edition, we'll examine why.

But first a little catch-up on what's been happening since my last missive.

Catching up

We were in Washington for a few days last week, and among other meetings, we attended former U.S. Ambassador David Wilkin's reception at his new law firm. He understands the cross-border issues like no one else and was a real coup for the firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. Then who should walk in, but Sen. John McCain? It was great talking with him again. He seems at peace with himself and is clearly not looking backward but forward to more years in the Senate. When he lost the election he said he had no intention of growing a beard and moving to Europe. He just wanted to get back to work, right away.

McCain and his fellow Senators and Congressmen who attended were in the middle of negotiations on the Congressional bail-out package and Sen. McCain was clearly opposed to the amount and focus of the package.

It was also great to catch up with Canada's Ambassador, the Hon. Michael Wilson, with whom I had the pleasure of working with back when he was Minister of Finance. I didn't want to take up too much of his time as he had to work that room to argue Canada's position against the 'Buy America' clause in the package. The consensus was that although it was watered down, Canada will be inevitably affected by it - which won't help American consumers or industry, but is a great 'bone' to throw to protectionist forces.

The Psychology of Recession - Fighting

Clearly the American public is deeply split on the bail-out. It does appear that huge chunks of the spending were pent-up spending demands by Democrats in Congress. Certainly for all the talk of bi-partisanship, the process for getting that support was as important as the substance. McCain and his Republican colleagues seemed to be particularly worked up over that.

Will it work? Well, I'm no economist but.......it has the potency of perception. The President is DOING something. He's giving us HOPE. When you consider that a huge chunk of a recession is psychological, then it sometimes requires a psychological solution. Most of it will probably not create the kind of growth and jobs that have been trumpeted. However, the psychological impact may be a significant kick-start to the moribund consumer economy that is our reality. People have to be willing to reach into their wallets and SPEND. Combine that with a restored credit market and who knows?

Meanwhile in Canada, the spill-over effect of the American economic woes have triggered a much greater hit on the economy than anyone had ever expected. However, even after Canada's next two combined deficits of $64 billion the Canadian debt-to-GDP ratio will still be only half of the Americans. While there is not great comfort in that, it does keep the scale of the problem in some kind of context.

The other day I was speaking to a well-known television reporter who was agonizing about the 7.5% unemployment rate. I replied "yes that is true, but keep in mind that 92.5% of people who want a job actually have one!" I added "that will never be a news item.... details at 11:00". She was taken aback and said, "honestly I never thought of it that way." Hhhmmmm.

Final point on the economy (I promise). The media need to stop 'banging the drum' on every conceivable negative story that they can possibly report. Otherwise it will be a self-fulfilling prophesy. And hey isn't that the most satisfactory kind?

When it's not enough to just be sorry.
Recent revelations and admissions from the White House to the executive suites to the dug-out have triggered a spate of apologies from the President on down. (Although we're still waiting for (the aptly-named) Bernie Madoff to release his no-doubt-deeply-felt apologia.)

Recent apologies:

A-Roid (uh-I mean A-Rod) "I'm the one who screwed up and no one else."
Obama - "I screwed up".

Notice the importance of the phrase "screwed up"?
I mean "I made a mistake is so nineties."

And now for something completely different.....

How about these British bankers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeJbTBX1l5Y

I don't know about you, but they were less than convincing - perhaps it was their tone, body language...but they didn't quite pull it off.

Until next time....
Barry