Bush's Failed Campaign To Rebrand America

“You’ve probably never heard of a State Department official named Price Floyd (I hadn’t until a few days ago), but his resignation-in-protest, late last March, is as damning a commentary on President George W. Bush’s foreign policies as any of the critiques from retired military officers. Floyd was director of media relations at Foggy Bottom, the most recent of several diplomatic posts that he’d held over the past 17 years, beginning in the administration of Bush’s father. He explained his reason for quitting in a little-read op-ed piece in the May 25 edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (his former hometown newspaper): Basically, he was tired of trying to convince journalists, here and abroad, ‘that we should not be judged by our actions, only our words.’ Ever since Sept. 11, the State Department, he noted, has embarked on ‘an unprecedented effort’ to explain U.S. foreign policy to both American and foreign audiences. His office arranged more than 6,500 interviews, half with international media. On any given day, senior officials were doing four or five interviews. And yet, poll after poll revealed rising animosity toward America. But the problem wasn’t our words; as he put it, ‘What we don’t have here is a failure to communicate.’ Rather, it was our actions, ‘which speak the loudest of all.’”

Bush's failed campaign to rebrand America. - By Fred Kaplan - Slate Magazine



"Actions speak louder than words", one of my favorite pieces of timeless wisdom.

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