Never has a President-elect wrested the reins of communication so fast. In less than a week Barack Obama has already taken hold of the Bully Pulpit - that very real lightning rod of power of the presidency.
Why?
- Obviously because Obama is an outstanding communicator. That is now a given, and people expect him to speak out clearly, and with force.
- Bush gave up the Bully Pulpit long ago. His voice as one of power and influence has long since been weakened, and is now almost irrelevant. Astounding for a U.S. President.
- The Obama people (and thus their leader) appear very smart. They ran a very competent campaign, and they are not slowing down. They are being immediately proactive on several communication fronts - media, internet, Obama appearances, key appointments that make impact, etc.
So power doesn't really shift for more than two months, on January 20th. But it already has.
Proving once again that the effectiveness of a President's communication determines the effectiveness of his presidency.
The effectiveness of his communication only demonstrates itself. He hasn’t actually accomplished anything yet; let’s see what happens over the next four years before we acclaim him a critical success.