Political Public Relations is a New Animal

Being that I am a journalist who does celebrity and political feature interviews it has taught me quite a bit about the politics of political public relations as funny as that sounds.

The very first political public figure I interviewed was Ralph Nader who is known for being a Washington outsider and exceptionally open with his opinions and views. He doesn’t need to worry about pissing off the establishment. Those horses have already left the stable. So, in short, he was quite open and very in-depth with his thoughts and views. Essentially a cake-walk in that regard and also extremely kind.

My next political interview for PR.com was with Ron Paul, another Washington rebel of sorts and someone who actually left a pretty indelible thumbprint on the 2007/2008 Republican Presidential primary race. John McCain may have earned the Presidential nomination for his party, but Ron Paul became a pop culture cult hero among conservative independents the world over. His answers were a bit more packaged than Nader’s but they were in-depth, and he was not afraid to take sides on issues including abortion, taxes, healthcare reform and welfare.

Dennis Kucinich was the next Congressman to cross my path and I interviewed him for PR.com as well. The complete antithesis of Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich is at the extreme left, more so than even President Barack Obama. If people think President Obama is liberal, they would have been in for quite a ride had Dennis Kucinich won the 2008 Presidential Primary race. Dennis Kucinich created a high profile platform for himself as well when he ran in the 2007/2008 Presidential Primary race, trying to nab the Democratic nomination. Problem? He tipped his hand too fast and all his cards spelled “bleeding heart liberal.” Dennis Kucinich was a mixed bag during our interview. Public Relations-wise he was able to muster the courage to answer some questions with a great deal of personal opinion and emotion, and didn’t hold back. When it came to questions regarding how he would vote on various bills brought forth by President Obama he became a little repetitive in his answers, not wanting to go into too many specifics, which I understand. Those fights are often best left to the House floor. He also did not want to directly address his opinions on Rahm Emanuel who had just recently been appointed White House Chief of Staff at the time of my interview with him.

My interview with Howard Dean shone a spotlight on a politician sticking to their talking points and staying on message at all costs. To his credit, his message was to be a vocal advocate for healthcare reform and for a public option that would resemble what Congress enjoys in their own privileged healthcare benefits. Though his message was clear, well thought out and on target with current news headlines, he was clearly not comfortable veering off topic or message at all and did not wish to step outside his book’s talking points to reveal any other thoughts drifting through his mind as it pertained to any downsides of a public option in healthcare or to discuss any other topics unrelated.

Last night I had the privilege of conducting an interview with David Plouffe, President Barack Obama’s campaign manager and the now legendary figure who many credit with making the impossible possible and creating history in ushering Obama to the White House. Stay tuned for my thoughts on David Plouffe…