Naughty and Nice 2

2008 was nothing if not a political year. As it is with every presidential election year, most everything that happens by our leading political figures dominates the news and is viewed through the prism of election day. (That, by the way, is not necessarily a good thing, but it is a reality of our media and the mindset it helps set within our nation.) All this is to say that my list of naughty and nice communicators in 2008 is very short and very political. It also, I freely concede, reflects my own political bias, certainly in this particular year that is rapidly drawing to a close.

But before I name names, let me define what criteria I am using to determine who or what is placed on which list. Honesty. Plain and simple. Rarely are efforts to communicate letter-perfect. Things can almost always be done more effectively. However, if an effort is honest without a goal to mislead and/or deceive, then that in itself is a good or nice communication effort. While being good or nice may not result in success, it does contribute to the kind of bridge building that remains a fundamental purpose of communication. Having said that, the naughty list is dominated by President Bush and his administration. Any individual and group that makes deception a main part of their outreach deserves nothing less. We may have had worse presidents in our nation's history, but it is difficult to identify one that has been more fundamentally dishonest. The most recent example of this is Bush's current round of farewell interviews with the major media outlets. In each one he talks of his regret that intelligence had been better regarding the question of whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. The well-documented fact is the intelligence was just fine. Bush, Cheney and others simply manipulated the intelligence to fit their desire to go to war. The fact that hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of their ongoing lies makes their behavior immoral as well as criminal.

In terms of nice, I must go with President-election Obama. In less than a month, he will become our new communicator-in-chief. As a student and teacher of communication, I feel at this moment that our nation is in good hands. Obama is a solid communicator because his words come from his ability and willingness to listen. As a result, he is able to speak to the needs, concerns, etc. of people in a manner in which they can relate and feel heard. The success of his historic campaign is the result, in large measure, of his ability to communicate with consistent honestly and compassion. May he continue to exhibit this talent.

Happy holidays everyone!