Online Public Relations Thoughts

President Biden's ad lib in his State of the Union address about needing oil and gas for another 10 years has sparked a backlash from both sides of the energy issue. Republicans jeered him because they say -- rightly-- that we will need oil and gas for far longer than that.  Democrats and climate activists lashed him because they say -- rightly -- that we need to wean ourselves from oil and gas quickly.  In other words, it was an ad lib that stepped into a minefield.  Some issues are like that.  They are no-win and the best thing a communicator can do is to avoid them if possible.  But, that is not always a solution.  Biden should have acknowledged our dependency on petroleum and gas for decades to come while emphasizing the need to reduce it.  Activists would have slammed him but at least he would have been right.