Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Mr. President, Let's Chat
It came up in several contexts over the weekend. In the Chicago Sun-Times (HT: The Corner)and on Meet The Press which Hedgehog Blog comments on here. The idea is that President Bush should have "Fireside Chats" to, as the Chicago Sun-Times Pieces puts it
Two things I think matter here. The first is a bit esoteric. With a professional military, Many previous information channels into the populous have been lost. Previously word just "came home" - now that effect is only to the professional military class and to those of us that read the milblogs. I think we need to find some big money to make the milblogs a genuine highly distributed news source. That will happen eventually, but I think we need to find someone now to publish a weekly collection or get the best milblogs routinely published in the weeklies.
Secondly, the President really does need to do something to drive the information agenda. Lowell is right, whatever it is it will picked over, misconstrued and grossly over analyzed, which is why I think a blog might be the best way to do it -- it allows for immediate response. But I am just throwing ideas against the wall right now, seeing if one sticks, whatever it is, he really does need to take the lead.
There's too much static noise out there regarding the war. It's filling a vacuum caused by the administration's failure to keep us regularly updated on what is happening throughout Iraq. It's time for the Bush administration to step up and tell us what is going on -- with regular reports, weekly updates, fireside chats, talks with soldiers -- through the entire country of Iraq.Hedgehog thinks it could backfire, reacting to the Meet The Press discussion, he says
So I wonder if the old media would allow such fireside chats to be effective or helpful todayLowell wonders is something like fireside chat might not work
"With the aid of talk radio and the blogosphere"Personally, I think the White House might just want to have its own blog.
Two things I think matter here. The first is a bit esoteric. With a professional military, Many previous information channels into the populous have been lost. Previously word just "came home" - now that effect is only to the professional military class and to those of us that read the milblogs. I think we need to find some big money to make the milblogs a genuine highly distributed news source. That will happen eventually, but I think we need to find someone now to publish a weekly collection or get the best milblogs routinely published in the weeklies.
Secondly, the President really does need to do something to drive the information agenda. Lowell is right, whatever it is it will picked over, misconstrued and grossly over analyzed, which is why I think a blog might be the best way to do it -- it allows for immediate response. But I am just throwing ideas against the wall right now, seeing if one sticks, whatever it is, he really does need to take the lead.
