in the Jesuit Tradition - Rockhurst University

identified publicly with the title of speechwriterwould be inappropriate — Truman’s own styleand his policies should speak for themselves.Clifford was Truman’s “Legal Counsel.” In thosedays, since speeches were scarcely televised, closeadvisers grappled with issues such as whether aState of the Union Address should be presentedorally or written and hand-delivered toCongress, an option still available to thepresident. In the current era of television, sucha choice is a laughable issue.In the middle 20th century, few presidentsdealt in any way with television media. Truman’s1949 inaugural was the first televised and themedium, arguably, didn’t really reveal itself as amajor force until 1960. Some scholars argue thatthe famous Kennedy/Nixon debate of 1960 wasthe beginning of a more complete understandingof the power of television. Nixon, who wasrecovering from an illness, appeared somewhatpale and unshaven. He apparently could notcompete well in a debate with Kennedy, wholooked sharp and is reported to have usedmakeup. Radio listeners, however, consideredthe outcome of the debate a draw at a minimumand probably favoring Nixon if either. Thedebate does indicate that viewers indeed weredrawn to physical traits of leaders highlightedby television.In some cases, experts go beyondhighlighting traits to actually creating them. In1988, 5-foot-8 inch Michael Dukakis strolledout for one of his presidential debates withGeorge Bush and stepped up to a lectern thatwas some seven inches shorter than the muchtaller Bush’s. Also, to create an image of leadershipequal to Bush’s, Dukakis’ communicationteam arranged for him to stand on a platformthat raised him even higher. Surely, his advisersmust have thought, we cannot afford toallow television to punish us for a diminutivecandidate.Ironically, the necessity of leaders to dealwith the media, often resulting in simpleunwillingness or failure for lack of skill, onlyfeeds the media’s desire to identify leaders aslacking leadership. That is, presidents may behandicapped by the same medium they reject assuperfluous to leadership. Jimmy Carter oncesaid, after leaving office, that there was nogreater “pain in the neck” for him than havingto deal with his speechwriters and, implicitly,other communication staff. His interest incrafting a message that television favored wasalways secondary to its content. Unfortunately,his television performances and his messagesrarely were received positively — Carter hadvirtually the lowest public approval ratings ofany president in the last 70 years.Good Times, Bad TimesGood leadership usually demands clarity ofvision — both in theory and as it is expressed tofollowers. Visionary leadership is corrupted bytelevision, however, as it encourages vaguenessby reducing position statements to sound bites.Some sound bites are constructed strategicallyto allow a president to take several positionsat once to, thus, appeal to many audiences.Consider the phrases “take to a new level,”“move in a new direction” or “enact legislationthat benefits all Americans” to endorse a policy.Or the ubiquitous “paradigm shift” that we allmust make. Other more specific bites, pennedby speechwriters, reduce vision to memorablequips, such as Reagan’s Panama Canal summary“we built it, we paid for it, it’s ours,” GeorgeBush’s “no new taxes,” Clinton’s “bridge to the21st century,” while candidates spontaneouslyPhoto courtesy of George Bush Presidential Library.19 FALL 2001