Bush needs a proven PR adviser

WASHINGTON — With the wealth of talented experience George W. Bush brought to his administration, the one thing he seems to have forgotten is a first-class public-relations adviser — someone who could remind him and his aides that often it isn't what you say but how you say it that makes the difference.

From the very beginning, President Bush's failure to give enough attention to public relations has made him seem on the side of wealth and big business and against the interests of most Americans. That actually is not true, but White House clumsiness in dealing with issues from the environment to stem cell research to the patients' bill of rights certainly has made it look that way.

When a political decision is made, there appears to be no real thought given to marketing it, raising real concern about his ability to persuade Americans on upcoming issues like defense overhaul, energy and Medicare reform.

For instance, the insensitive handling of last-minute Clinton administration conservation regulations has left Bush scrambling to overcome unfair allegations that he is uncaring about the environment. This perception has led to declining public confidence in his ability to protect our natural resources and has given Democrats a major issue for the 2002 congressional elections.

The fact is, the president had strong justification in postponing regulations on arsenic content in water and in announcing the Kyoto treaty on global warming was dead in the U.S. Had he explained first that he was concerned about the arsenic levels but wanted to conduct a study on the regulation's adequacy before its implementation — which, after all, isn't scheduled to take effect until 2006 — the reaction might have been different. He really didn't have to say anything about Kyoto. The treaty has absolutely no chance of ratification by the Senate.

His handling of the energy crisis in California, the high price of gasoline and what the country must do in the future to meet its fuel needs has been a public-relations nightmare, once again leaving him with the image of one who is callously unsympathetic to the problems of common citizens. Instead of selling Americans on the need to employ a variety of solutions to the nation's energy problems including conservation, alternative fuels and increased sources, he gave the impression he was only for the latter and wasn't bothered by the oil industry's record profits.