The Good, The Bad, The Spin

Lanny Davis is former special counsel to President Bill Clinton. While in the White House from 1996 through 1998, Davis was assigned the difficult tasks of handling negative allegations against the President.

He had to seemingly work against the formal machinations of the White House in order to give the President credibility in the face of, at times, bizarre allegations of iimpropriety. His experience is chronicled in his 2003 book, Truth To Tell: Tell It Early, Tell It All, Tell It Yourself: Notes from My White House Education.

Truth To Tell presents an inside view of media relations at the highest political level and soundly presents the story behind the stories.Davis’ latest book, Scandal: How “Gotcha” Politics Is Destroying America, sets America’s scandal culture in a much broader context by presenting the history of American political scandals through today’s 24-7 news cycle and the resulting extreme partisanship we see today. In the end, Davis presents a voice for commonality among political views. He now works as a litigator focusing on crisis management in Washington, D.C.

This post is the first in a multi-part interview with Davis about crises and media relations. Please check back for future installments. Better yet, click the Subscribe link at right to get new posts by email or into your feed reader.

How did you get into your position at the Clinton White House?

LANNY DAVIS: It starts with my friendship with Hillary Rodham when I was in law school before I knew Bill Clinton. It goes back to when I was in my third year in Yale Law School in 1969. We were friends for that one year before I graduated and then over the years kept in touch off and on. I met her future husband when he volunteered in the Joe Lieberman for State Senate Campaign of 1970. That’s where all roads seemed to cross in New Haven. (more…)

It is generally a poor media relations strategy to criticize the news media. In this case, England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair doesn’t have much to lose. On one hand, he’s on his way out. On the other hand, his criticism raises valid points.

Some choice nuggets that bear repeating:

• “I am going to say something that few people in public life will say, but most know is absolutely true: a vast aspect of our jobs today—outside of the really major decisions, as big as anything else—is coping with the media, its sheer scale, weight and constant hyperactivity.
• “At points, it literally overwhelms. Talk to senior people in virtually any walk of life today—business, military, public services, sport, even charities and voluntary organisations and they will tell you the same. People don’t speak about it because, in the main, they are afraid to.

(more…)