BP - Absolute Worst Public Relations Savvy in History of Human Enterprise

[YankeeFan]

Have you seen the story about the missing boy in Oregon?

Do you see an equivalence between whoever kidnapped (and possibly killed) the boy and the person in charge of finding the boy?

Now you're juts being silly.

I thought this was a thread about the PR savvy of the folks responsible for cleaning up the mess in the Gulf.

You started it. Isn't that what it's about?

I didn't think it was about moral equivalency or that your PR savvy could only be brought into question if you were responsible for the spill.

In your Oregon example, I'll bet the Police Chief would get criticized if he participated in a yacht race or went golfing, even though he isn't responsible for the crime.

It wouldn't make him a killer, but it would be stupid and not savvy PR.

 

[YankeeFan]

One big difference is that golf courses aren't being ruined by oil leaks. The Gulf is. Hayward is doing something that many people cannot do now thanks to his company's ****-up.

Had Hayward played a round of golf, the criticism wouldn't be quite as harsh. Had Obama went sailing, he would be getting ripped twice as hard.

I think that's true, but if he didn't think it was a big deal, why didn't he allow the press pool to take his picture?

I wonder if the press will object to this. I bet they will.

 

[highlander]

MSNBC discussing Obama's day yesterday.

Guess what? He played golf.

But, unlike Tony Hayward, he has the power to prevent any pictures from being taken. He played on a military base and they didn't let the press pool snap a shot.

Do you understand that Obama didn't cause the spill?

George Bush ddn't cause Hurricane Katrina. But he sure gets all the blame for that.

 

[highlander]

Do you understand the meaning of "cause"?

So what?

Lot's of things happen on a President's watch that they have to deal with -- even though they didn't cause it.

He said he's responsible for getting the leak stopped, not me.

He said he's focused on it 24 hours a day.

So, can you just please comment on the PR savvy of the Obama administration that criticizes Hayward at the same time Obama is out at ball games and playing rounds of golf?

Which will happen first, the leak getting fixed or Obama meeting with the Lakers?

 

[mustangj17]

I don't think anyone of us has the right to judge the guy for going wherever he goes. He's not going to physically fix the leak. We're lucky he hasn't quit yet.

Where's Obama? At the ball game with his family? Where's Congress to do something.

That's just my 2 cents.

 

[Point of Order]

The willful ignorance on this thread amazes me.

 

[YankeeFan]

The willful ignorance on this thread amazes me.

Look in a mirror.

I don't think anyone has disputed that it was a bad PR move for Hayward to attend/participate in a yacht race.

My main point is that it was dumb of Rahm Emanuel to criticize him. Hayward was going to get hammered either way, but when Rahm decides to pile on, it opens his boss to similar scrutiny and accusations of hypocrisy when he goes to a game, plays golf, or hosts the UConn women's basketball team at the White House.

BP and Tony Hayward were guilty of bad PR. The White House is guilty of bad PR.

I had to go out and do a job, so I'm watching the Sunday morning shows on DVR now. Chris Wallace just made the very point that I did -- that Obama is just as guilty by playing golf.

And it's not like this criticism is new. Watch that Jon Stewart clip I posted earlier.

He has to be very careful.

Rahm would have been much better off by just saying that he wasn't going to question Hayward's decision.

 

[YankeeFan]

Drudge Headline:

BP CEO GOES SAILING
OBAMA GOES GOLFING

Not great PR for the White House.

 

[GoochMan]

The willful ignorance on this thread amazes me.

Look in a mirror.

I don't think anyone has disputed that it was a bad PR move for Hayward to attend/participate in a yacht race.

My main point is that it was dumb of Rahm Emanuel to criticize him. Hayward was going to get hammered either way, but when Rahm decides to pile on, it opens his boss to similar scrutiny and accusations of hypocrisy when he goes to a game, plays golf, or hosts the UConn women's basketball team at the White House.

BP and Tony Hayward were guilty of bad PR. The White House is guilty of bad PR.

I had to go out and do a job, so I'm watching the Sunday morning shows on DVR now. Chris Wallace just made the very point that I did -- that Obama is just as guilty by playing golf.

And it's not like this criticism is new. Watch that Jon Stewart clip I posted earlier.

He has to be very careful.

Rahm would have been much better off by just saying that he wasn't going to question Hayward's decision.

I agree with you that Rahm should have kept his mouth shut. Obama playing a round of golf shouldn't be that big a deal, but the optics of it are bad and it wasn't a good PR move.

Chris Matthews seems to think Obama should be yelling and screaming on the stump like Teddy Roosevelt. Obama ain't that kind; never has been, never will be. It would look fake if he tried it.

Oh, and to Highlander's point: no one blames GWB for the actual Hurricane...he takes blame, at least from me, for the aftermath.

Obama has made some mistakes with this disaster--no doubt about that-- but he didn't need to see starving and dying people on CNN to be informed of the situation.

 

[GoochMan]

Sorry, I saw Chris Wallace and thought of Matthews.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

mustang, we're "lucky" who hasn't quit yet?

 

[Big Circus]

 

[Stoney]

I don't think anyone of us has the right to judge the guy for going wherever he goes. He's not going to physically fix the leak. We're lucky he hasn't quit yet.

Where's Obama? At the ball game with his family? Where's Congress to do something.

That's just my 2 cents.

WTF do you think Hayward's role is in this? And how are we "lucky" he doesn't quit? He's not some hero that came into this to try to help us, he's involved because he's running the company that CAUSED it. Are you under the impression that BP could walk away from this if they wanted to? They don't have the option to "quit."

You act like Obama, Congress and BP share equal culpability over this. Uh, no,only one of those caused this disaster through their negligence and greedy corner cutting.

 

[sportsguydave]

Drudge Headline:

BP CEO GOES SAILING
OBAMA GOES GOLFING

Not great PR for the White House.

It's Drudge, YF. Nobody cares. When Drudge falls out of bed, it's Obama's fault. Anybody who's paying attention knows his agenda. But thanks for playing the false equivalency game. Pick up your lovely parting gifts on the way out. :)

 

[Stoney]

Chris Wallace just made the very point that I did -- that Obama is just as guilty by playing golf.

You mean the Fox News Chris Wallace? Shocking that he'd have that take. And, no, it is not the same thing, because there is that pesky little matter of fault. Neither Obama nor anyone under his charge caused this disaster, the same can't be said for Hayward.

The boss of the company at fault jetting off for the frickin yacht races right now strikes me as quite a bit more calloused, and insanely stupid PR-wise, than Obama taking in a round of golf.

 

[YankeeFan]

Drudge Headline:

BP CEO GOES SAILING
OBAMA GOES GOLFING

Not great PR for the White House.

It's Drudge, YF. Nobody cares. When Drudge falls out of bed, it's Obama's fault. Anybody who's paying attention knows his agenda. But thanks for playing the false equivalency game. Pick up your lovely parting gifts on the way out. :)

It's not a game of false equivalency.

Point of Order pointed out that it was a terrible PR hit for BP to have Hayward seen at a yacht race while the oil continues to spill.

I asked a couple of questions in response and instead of getting them answered, people acted like I accused Obama of kidnapping murder.

Does no one here have the intellectual honesty to answer a few simple questions?

Here they are again:

1.) What is the standard & who does it apply to?

2.) Was it a good PR move for Rahm to criticize Hayward?

3.) Was it a good PR move for Obama to attend the Nats game and play a round of golf?

I'll hang up and listed to the answer off the air.

 

[YankeeFan]

Chris Wallace just made the very point that I did -- that Obama is just as guilty by playing golf.

You mean the Fox News Chris Wallace? Shocking that he'd have that take. And, no, it is not the same thing, because there is that pesky little matter of fault. Neither Obama nor anyone under his charge caused this disaster, the same can't be said for Hayward.

The boss of the company at fault jetting off for the frickin yacht races right now strikes me as quite a bit more calloused, and insanely stupid PR-wise, than Obama taking in a round of golf.

Wallace had a long career at both ABC & NBC before joining FoxNews. He's no right wing fire breather.

It's a natural question to ask -- specifically because of Rahm's criticism of Hayward.

Fault may play a role, but it's not the only thing involved.

If Obama had attended a yacht race or gone windsurfing (or had his picture taken playing golf) he'd be in for greater criticism.

Hayward & BP are to blame and will fall under greater scrutiny. And between Hayward & Obama, only one of them flew across the pond to participate in a yacht race, but you're not dealing in reality if you think Obama's immune from criticism and will continue to face scrutiny for his leisure activities and his light events (the celebrity/team type of things).

 

[Point of Order]

Yes it is.

 

[YankeeFan]

Yes it is.

For a guy who loves to argue, it's really telling that you refuse to answer a couple of simple questions.

You set yourself up as the arbiter of bad PR when you started the thread.

Do you have any experience dealing with PR issues? I do -- including political situations.

Obama hasn't had a good PR week. His speech was trashed and Rahm broke a cardinal rule when he piled on Hayward.

Playing a round of golf (and not letting the press take his picture) didn't help.

Do you really have no opinion about Rahm's statement or Obama's round of golf?

Do you not possess the intellectual honesty to answer?

 

[Stoney]

Here they are again:

1.) What is the standard & who does it apply to?

The standard is ****ing common sense, and it applies to everyone. I'm not sure what other answer you're fishing for here.

If you're the boss of a company that just caused the worst environmental disaster the history of this hemisphere, a disaster that is STILL ongoing with tons of oil continuing to spew around the clock, then it's probably not a good time for the millions of people suffering from their destroyed coastline to have to see you jetting off to enjoy the yacht races on your country's pristine unpolluted coastlines. Basic common sense.

And, no, it is not the same thing as Obama playing a round of golf. If you can't see the difference, that's your problem.