A high-profile consultant who does crisis management for big corporations and celebrities such as the late Michael Jackson said in a speech hosted by Americans for Tax Reform Wednesday that President Obama’s easy ride from the media will soon be over.
Eric Dezenhall discussed his years aiding high profile clients in his book Glass Jaw: A Manifesto for Defending Fragile Reputations in an Age of Instant Scandal. He shared his experience and how organizations can avoid public opinion crises.
Republicans have long complained of unprecedented media favoritism toward President Obama.
"One of the things I think is happening to this movement is, with Obama you have a media and entertainment culture that has such an enormous investment in him that there really is no appetite to dig," Dezenhall said. "So a lot of what it all comes down to is, is there that appetite to be tough with someone who, when all is said and done, is your guy."
Dezenhall said Obama’s power comes from his office, but when he loses that he’ll be vulnerable.
"I think it will be harder for him to sustain this media invincibility once he leaves," Dezenhall said. "And all of these things come in waves because the reason why he can’t be attacked while he is here is there is the feeling that any attack on him is a right wing racism and malfeasance."
Dezenhall pointed to New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s bridgegate incident as an example of how people can be convicted in the media before the facts of the case are fully presented.
"He was widely assumed to be guilty, but of course we find out two weeks ago as an afterthought, he was vindicated but that’s not a story, nobody cares about that," Dezenhall said.
Dezenhall also talked about the cultural challenge conservatives and libertarians face.
"To me the greatest challenge that conservatives and libertarians have is the cultural challenge, and I wish I had an answer," Dezenhall said. "Yes it’s true there are some people who are conservative in Hollywood, but it really is kind of a monolith, I mean it really is. I think one of the great challenges is how do you get investment in movies and TV shows that can impact culture."