Selling a Secretary of State

December 05, 2005

Selling a Secretary of State

The New York Times looks at the public relations strategy employed by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. According to aide Jim Wilkinson, most of her diplomatic work during a foreign visit... is boring to a majority of the population, so "she always tries to meet people and do events that an average person can relate to." She's frequently greeted at the airport by local celebrities.

Rice's news strategy is also "skewed toward broadcast media. In October and November she gave 22 interviews to television and radio stations and only 3 to newspapers and magazines."

Of course, "all of this has raised Ms. Rice's profile at home as well. For months now, she has tried to bat away speculation that she is campaigning for higher office... Ms. Rice maintains that she has no interest in running. But neither she nor her aides seem displeased by the attention."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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December 05, 2005