Timing is Not the Only Thing

Posted on December 11th, 2007 @ 11:32 am by Hawk.
Categories: Debate, In the News, Public Relations.

My Canadian colleague, Mr. Bacon, has opined on the timing of announcements for maximum media coverage. He specifically mentioned the timing of Mitt Romney’s speech on Religion in America. While he focused his argument solely on the timing of Mr. Romney’s announcement, there are other factors he didn’t mention that I believe should be added to the discussion of when announcements should and shouldn’t be made.

First, consider the setting. In Mr. Romney’s case, he was scheduled to give a speech in the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library on the campus of Texas A&M, where he was introduced by the former president of the United States. He was 90 miles from where JFK gave his speech on religion’s role in his presidential campaign in 1960. It’s a perfect setting to abate some of the concerns the voting public has brought up with regards to his campaign. The setting itself-the public library honoring a former president, with that former president providing the introduction-was a politically calculated move to say, “I am running for president of the United States, not the leader of any religion.”

Second, consider the season. It was delivered in the first part of December. Hanukkah, the commemoration of a Jewish victory for freedom and the courage and faith that made it possible, began two nights prior to his speech. If he were to have given it on Tuesday, he would have been accused of trying to supersede the Jewish holiday and lost points for himself. But in giving it on Thursday, he allows others to celebrate the beginning of their own holiday. Moreover, Christmas, the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth, is around the corner; and the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca for Muslims, is slated to begin December 18. So it’s a perfect time for Mr. Romney to deliver a speech on religion and religious tolerance. It’s a season of focus on historical religious occasions, which lends itself to love, compassion and withdrawal of prejudice. There is no better season to deliver such a speech.

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