4 ms·

Governments in general do a terrible job at PR. I remember a "controversy" during the Obama administration which was caused by the phrase "you didn't build that

Governments in general do a terrible job at PR. I remember a "controversy" during the Obama administration which was caused by the phrase "you didn't build that" which was basically him trying to promote the stability and infrastructure that the government provides for innovation and entrepreneurship. For a rich nation like the US there's a lot we need to be thankful to our government for. The fact that I can hop on a cross country flight and have no worries at all about clashing with another plane is a testament to the FAA. Organizations like the NIH provide valuable research for drug development. DARPA help to fund the internet! The government deserves loads of criticism but at the same time our views of it are so cynical it leads to situations like this.

sstorie 8y ago
It's pretty damn hard to do a "good" job when a statement like that is twisted so quickly to mean something drastically different. The fact that certain people ate that up like candy is troubling on several levels.
pstuart 8y ago
Your example is dangerous territory for political discussion here. The Obama example cited was intentionally misquoted (by providing a snippet without the full context) to make him bad. Government PR to a certain degree is a good thing to promote support and appreciation for programs, but it can get into dangerous territory when wielded with the intent to deceive (as we're now seeing).
- s73v3r_ 8y ago
  I think that's their point; that when government tries to do PR, there is a segment of the population that, depending on who is in power, will twist those words.
- Buttons840 8y ago
  I've wondered if this is part of why politicians are so long winded and won't directly answer questions. Not just so they can appear neutral and avoid answering hard questions, but if they actually say something meaningful in a few words it will probably be taken out of context and used against them.
s73v3r_ 8y ago
I know here in California, there were some Republican state legislators who were upset that the state was putting up signs highlighting projects that were being paid for with the new Gas Tax, because they were afraid that if people saw what the tax money was going to fund, they'd be in favor of it, and not vote against the repeal ballot measure.

sstorie 8y ago

It's pretty damn hard to do a "good" job when a statement like that is twisted so quickly to mean something drastically different. The fact that certain people ate that up like candy is troubling on several levels.

pstuart 8y ago

Your example is dangerous territory for political discussion here. The Obama example cited was intentionally misquoted (by providing a snippet without the full context) to make him bad. Government PR to a certain degree is a good thing to promote support and appreciation for programs, but it can get into dangerous territory when wielded with the intent to deceive (as we're now seeing).

s73v3r_ 8y ago
I think that's their point; that when government tries to do PR, there is a segment of the population that, depending on who is in power, will twist those words.
Buttons840 8y ago
I've wondered if this is part of why politicians are so long winded and won't directly answer questions. Not just so they can appear neutral and avoid answering hard questions, but if they actually say something meaningful in a few words it will probably be taken out of context and used against them.

s73v3r_ 8y ago

I know here in California, there were some Republican state legislators who were upset that the state was putting up signs highlighting projects that were being paid for with the new Gas Tax, because they were afraid that if people saw what the tax money was going to fund, they'd be in favor of it, and not vote against the repeal ballot measure.