Hail to the Spotlight…
Hail to the Chief, and the spotlight he brings with him.
President Barack Obama has come and gone. And the national media spotlight was focused with laser beam accuracy for a very brief time on Southwest Florida (the epicenter of the foreclosure universe, again).
Snapshots of our local communities were painted with unflattering words like slum, unemployment, foreclosure and desperation. And the spotlight focused on a number of local residents with varying results.
The attention helped Henrietta Hughes and her son find a home, and several people realized their dream of meeting the President of the United States.
Others seemed to feel that the visit would result in the answer to their personal prayers, like the local college student who asked about healthcare and started out strong by getting his first radio gig and ended up being hoodwinked by a radio show in Arizona.
One woman even mouthed the words “I love you Barack,” making her the fodder for late night television.
Area residents and their woes offered the perfect backdrop to promote current legislation and the efforts of the new administration to prevent economic catastrophe. The President got to use the plight of local workers and families to promote his economic stimulus package.
Were the people interviewed and the stories that made it into the spotlight truly representative of the area? Do you feel like the focus on the area will help or harm our image on the world stage? Your turn to speak…
February 17th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
We are all having to struggling in this economy, but was it representative? I don’t think so. It is what you make of it and if you want to succeed you will find the resources needed. We all need to tighten our belts and be creative and take advantage of (as needed on a temporary basis) the government resources that we all contribute to and have a right to use to get us back on out feet. A few somehow made us (SWF) look bad and down & out. Other sections of the country are just as bad if not worse in some aspects than us. We are Americans and we will survive. That is what we do.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
The president’s town hall meeting in Fort Myers was done for some of the same reasons he recently held “events” in Elkhart, Ind., Denver, and Arizona.
It’s good PR for the president who is “for the people, by the people, and literally near the people.”
Elkhart: job-starved city has highest unemployment rate in the nation—15.2 percent. Why not stage an event there to plug the $787 billion economic stimulus bill?
Denver: what better venue to sign the bill than the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, allowing the prez to underscore the bill’s plan to create “green”-related jobs, as well as investments and tax cuts in science?
Arizona: another state hard hit by the home mortgage crisis. Great place for Mr. Obama to unveil the $75 billion mortgage relief plan.
See the trend? For the record, I am not passing judgement on these PR initiatives … just pointing them out for your consideration …
February 19th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Sandy - I hear what you are saying, but is your business part of the bail out? Is your family going to receive a stimulous check? I assume the answer to be “NO” to both of those questions. I feel we were a one night stand for the President…used and no call the next day! Hold me!
February 19th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Newsguy - Our current President has rock star status! Does that me he gets a pass when he makes a mistake or takes advantage of a situation for his own initiatives gain? I watched his first televised press conference in which he had to keep referring to the cheat sheet he had to remind him which calculated reporter with a calculated question to call on. This administration is less about PR and more about smoke and mirrors!!