Online Public Relations Thoughts

It wasn't that many weeks ago that health care reform dominated the headlines, airwaves and online discussion. The suspense was incredible. Would the Senate pass a bill or not and what would be in it? What a difference a new year makes. The publicity emphasis now is jobs, jobs, and jobs -- no mention of healthcare in the Senate although the Speaker of the House continues to insist that a bill will pass. It is hard to recall any other recent shift in emphasis that has been as extreme as this, and it seems hollow. The result is that Congress seems feckless because it could not do what it said that it was determined to do. The Speaker of the House is correct that there needs to be a bill of some kind for the public to have any trust in Congress at all. It seems, however, that Congress isn't worried about that. It's on to the next thing. Perhaps Congress is hoping that the public will forget. What Congress should remember is that at the heart of public relations, it is what you do and not what you say.