“All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway.” - Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States.
I don't know Harry? I have yet to take a course in any of the aforementioned PR skills (flattering, kissing and kicking) but this quote does hold some truth. It cannot be denied that PR is an essential (and some would say the primary) skill in politics. In order to get elected and remain elected, a politician (or at least her/his handlers), must be able to gauge and respond to public opinion on the topics that matter. It all comes down to this: you must convince people that you are right or you will be out of a job.
The purpose of Perceived Political will be to examine the use of PR strategies and tactics within the political sphere highlighting not just the failures (which are usually glaringly obvious), but also examples of where PR was used constructively to achieve political goals.
Although I am of the more (small l) liberal political persuasion, I hope to examine PR in the world of politics with a open mind and a level view. In my personal experience, as a student of both politics and public relations, I find that politicians and parties on both sides of the fence routinely pull off some excellent PR work and some that makes you wonder "what the hell were they thinking?"
So that will be the aim of Perceived Political, to examine the good, the bad, and the ugly of political communications.
I hope you enjoy!
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