McClellan on Karen Hughes as a means to "improve diplomacy efforts"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Q Scott, anything on how Karen Hughes is preparing for her confirmation hearing tomorrow, what the President expects from her and her new job, and with respect to the sort of war of ideas piece that you talked about earlier in the context of the anti-terror campaign, how much of a difference can be made by re-crafting the message?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the public diplomacy part of the war on terrorism is important. We are -- and Secretary Rice has spoken about this at length recently. We are going to continue to work to improve our public diplomacy efforts. There are a lot of people that have been working on that and they're doing a great job. Dina Powell, who was here at the White House, is now confirmed and over at the Department of State, already focusing on these issues. We look forward to the Senate moving forward quickly on Karen's confirmation so that she can go about doing the work at the State Department, as well.

But it's important for us to continue to communicate the values and -- or the values and what we stand for here in America. These are values that I think people share around the world. And the President talked about the importance of everybody living in freedom, because free societies are peaceful societies and freedom is something that is a universal right of all people.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/07/20050721-3.html

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

1. MORE:

'Hurricane Karen' on mission to woo the Arab world
By Alec Russell in Washington
(Filed: 23/07/2005)



Karen Hughes, the Texan who is credited with helping George W. Bush win two elections, set out her stall yesterday for a yet more daunting task - rebranding America to the Arab world.

She appeared before a Senate committee, seeking endorsement as under-secretary for public diplomacy, where her task will be to reverse the global tide of anti-Americanism.

"Hurricane Karen" has taken on and triumphed at her fair share of tricky public relations assignments. She softened Mr Bush's conservative image in his two presidential runs and before that in his two campaigns to be governor of Texas.

"I am not naive enough to think that this is not a huge challenge for all of us," Mrs Hughes told a hearing of the Senate foreign relations committee. "This is a massive undertaking. It is generational and it is global." Her ambition is to defeat "propaganda with truth", and she will be guided by four Es - engagement, exchanges, education and empowerment.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/23/whughes23.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/07/23/ixportal.html

[Lecky]

3. Oh this should be interesting, how is she going to rebrand America to the

ME? "Sorry Iraq, it's the oil...don't take it personal!" Someone needs to give the WH a clue, it's going to take more than a PR campaign to change attitudes and opinions of the US.

[sunnystarr]

6. Her ambition is to defeat "propaganda with truth"

gee ... that kinda sounds like what we're trying to do about this administration!

Maybe she should practice that on the Bush cabal first and see if it works. I bet Fitzgerald would really be interested in the truth.

[acmejack]

8. In Bushspeak that means defeat of the truth with propaganda!

Fits right in with the Clear Skies, Healthy Forests thing, doesn't it?

[lutefisk]

7. What a joke. Nobody outside the US will buy her bs.

I would think her real job is to reverse the perception on the part of gullible Americans that there is a global tide of anti-Americanism. There is no way she can do anything to manipulate the perceptions of the world outside the corporate borders of America.

[bowens43]

2. A better way for the US to improve diplomacy

would be for the US to stop killing Arabs.

[Imagevision]

4. Karen, baby...stay off the trains kid... or maybe not!

[Sannum]

5. Jesus, that woman looks like she has hooves.

[ncteechur]

9. How in the hell is Maude going to relate to Middle Easterners??

What in the hell does she know about M.E. culture? About any culture other than the culture of lies and death of this administration?