Last night during President Obama’s speech, Representative Joe Wilson from South Carolina shouted “You lie!” in the middle of it. When I first heard about it, I kind of laughed to myself as I thought about how other countries have more spirited debates during these types of speeches. But then I thought a bit more about it and I felt that Rep. Wilson was, politics aside, both unprofessional and disrespectful. As I read the reactions later today, I started to believe that it was a bad idea for him to do that because his actions made him and his party look bad, and gave the other side ammunition and motivation that could change the momentum of the debate. But then as I sat down to write about it, I realized that Rep. Wilson’s outburst could only be described with one word: Brilliant.

Before I get into how I came to my conclusion, I’d like to provide a little background on the situation. First, it is not my intention to argue whether Obamacare (as it’s being called) is or isn’t a good idea. Instead, I’m analyzing whether or not the interruption was a good idea. Second, if you haven’t seen the interruption, here’s a video clip from Youtube:

Finally, in order to really understand the affect this has, you need to take your own political beliefs out of the equation. Most liberals think Joe Wilson is an idiot for his outburst, many conservatives find him a hero. In fact, many conservatives remind us that back in 2005, President Bush was booed by several Democrats during one of his State of the Union addresses. Here’s the video:

So no matter which side you’re on, you’ve got an example of someone heckling a President representing your party (and if you can barely tell where either interruption occurred, you’re not alone). If you think it was wrong for one and not the other to act that way, you’re letting your political bias cloud your judgment. And I want to stress that I found both acts to be unprofessional and distasteful and I don’t think either act justifies the other. But as you’ll see, there’s more to it than just being disrespectful. Let’s look at some facts:

• Prior to yesterday, President Obama’s approval ratings had been sliding according to most major polling organizations. According to many polls, support for his health care reform plans have been sliding as well.
• Calling Obama a good speaker is an understatement. Whether you love him or hate him (or credit the teleprompter for his success), he speaks well and energizes his fans when he talks. His speech yesterday was well crafted.
• There are three types of people that watch any political speech: people siding with the speaker, people against the speaker and people on the fence. Hecklers, protesters and other people that interrupt typically don’t help their cause. They infuriate the speaker’s supporters, embarrass those that side with the heckler and can often nudge those on the fence to the speaker’s side.

So with all that being said, common knowledge would dictate that Rep. Wilson’s outburst was a bad idea. A lot of polls and commentary afterwards, including comments by Obama’s opponent in the Presidential election, John McCain, would indicate it was a very bad idea. Just as I thought it was unprofessional for the democrats to boo Bush during his speech, I felt the same about Joe Wilson. But then I came across another fact:

• Prior to yesterday, very few people knew who Joe Wilson was.

Today, “Joe Wilson” is the most popular search term on the web and on social media services such as Twitter. Today, he set a record for fund raising and his web site got so much traffic it got shut down (keep in mind that not all of this traffic was from fans).

There are 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and most people can only name a handful (many don’t even know who represents their district). Today, Joe Wilson is one member of that handful.

It’s scary how Washington is becoming more and more like Hollywood in the sense that getting your name out is the most important thing you can do, regardless of the cost. I have no idea what Joe Wilson’s political aspirations are, but where he comes from a conservative district, I suspect he won’t be out of a job soon. I live in a state that’s so liberal, that many of our representatives run unopposed and get away with behavior far worse than heckling the President.

Like the song “Celebrity” by Brad Paisley goes “the more they run my name down, the more my price goes up,” Joe Wilson’s value as a speaker or guest on television or radio has gone up. It’s hard to tell how long his fifteen minutes will last. Remember Susan Boyle? But he certainly made a name for himself. Was his behavior unprofessional? Definitely. Did it help his career? Absolutely. Would I have done it? Not a chance.

Post from: Overnight Sensation

Joe Wilson: Unprofessional or Brilliant?

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The King of Pop. Pedophile. Talented. Wacko Jacko. Everyone has an opinion of Michael Jackson – some loved him, some hated him. Although I wasn’t a fan of his music and found some of the things he did a bit odd and creepy, I certainly can appreciate his talent as a performer and admire the way he touched his fans. I remember when he went to court in 1993, people who he had never personally met waited outside willing to stick by him regardless of the outcome. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit that it’s pretty impressive how his fans truly loved him.

My first memories of Michael Jackson were back in 1984 when Thriller was at its peak. Kids in my class (girls and boys) had the red jackets and the gloves and my fourth grade teacher gave us a lesson on fads. Again, I wasn’t a fan of his music but loved the guitar solo in “Beat it” – and that was even before I knew that Eddie Van Halen performed it. Jackson later performed in one of my all time favorites “We are the World” and experimented with lot of different styles – one of my favorites being “Dirty Diana” (can you tell I love guitar?).

Even more impressive is the fact that Michael Jackson’s popularity helped launched the career of a talented unknown kid who’d call into the Doctor Demento show with song parodies. “Eat it” (a parody of “Beat it”) launched the long and successful career of Weird Al Yankovic (one of my favorites). I could go on and on about Michael’s accomplishments as a performer, but most of that is common knowledge or easily found on Wikipedia.

What I found most impressive is how dozens of companies used Michael’s music to promote their products. Again, he has a real talent when it comes to connecting with his fans – when they hear his music, they feel good. So naturally, companies paid millions of dollars to use his music to get his fans to associate that good feeling to their products. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all could perform in a manner that makes people feel good? If you speak to groups, this is your ultimate goal.

All speakers want to connect with their audiences but many fail to do so. Just like dozens fail each year on national TV in shows like American Idol (and countless others fail getting to that point), so do many presenters. Michael Jackson was successful because he was talented, worked hard and tried new things. He had his share of flops, but he always managed to bounce back. He had planned yet another farewell performance that was to begin the day after he passed away. If he were to live another 20 or 30 years, I’m sure he’d be making the news with both stumbles and successes throughout that period.

As a tribute to Michael Jackson, I’d like to share two videos that I recently came across on Youtube. One of my favorite places to vacation is Walt Disney World in Florida and a few years back, Michael Jackson was featured in one of their attractions – a 3-D film called Captain EO. Here is the film in it’s entirety (minus the 3-D):

Part 1:

Part 2:

Post from: Overnight Sensation

Lessons from Michael Jackson

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I remember John and Kate Gosselin from their first documentary on the Discovery Channel. This was before they agreed to be the focus of a reality show – a decision that resulted in the recent unfortunate news that’s dominating the entertainment headlines. They seemed like a nice couple doing an amazing job despite a challenging lifestyle.

Before “John & Kate Plus Eight” Kate worked a couple shifts a week as nurse. John, in my opinion, did a great job handling the kids on his own given that he also held down career/”>a full time job. They were crammed in a small house, their financial future was uncertain and both parents were overtired and over-stressed.

Then came the outpouring of help from caring people and eventually the reality series. No one can blame John & Kate for taking the offer to do the show – it made practical and financial sense at the time. But somewhere down the road, they fell victim to their own success.

I watched the show regularly during its first season – I was interested in their story as I know a lot of families with twins and high order multiples. I found it amazing how well organized this family was – the house was clean, the kids were on schedule and Kate did her darndest to ensure that the family ate healthy (often organic) foods. But even back then, it was clear to the viewer that the couple was plagued by the same vices that affected other reality TV couples – even though the couple themselves may not have realized it.

Kate was portrayed as being too assertive and harsh on her husband. John was portrayed as a guy that simply gave up because no matter what he did, he couldn’t please his wife. I stopped watching the show after this first season as I lost interest in the “show” part of it but did occasionally pick up an article here and there about this remarkable family. I hoped John and Kate had a chance due to their strong religious beliefs and commitment to each other and their family. But then they became household names – millions of people watched them from week to week.

The stress of a newborn is often enough to challenge the commitment of the two parents to each other. In some cases, one or both of the parents get jealous of the attention the baby receives from their partner. When you factor in twins or triplets, things begin to get overwhelming and financial pressure kicks in. With a singleton baby, the cost of day care is reasonable enough that both parents can return to work and still live a lifestyle similar to what they’re been used to. When you factor in twins or more, the cost of daycare can easily offset one parent’s earnings. Even if one parent had planned all along to stay home, bringing more than one baby home from the hospital at time is still a challenge.

Each additional baby adds a degree of complexity to the situation. Most multiples are born early which can come with its own set of challenges. With twins, you can use a “man to man defense” to feed and comfort the babies but you’ll often need double the equipment. With triplets, you’re outnumbered and someone is always pulling double duty. Plus, most vehicles outside of minivans and large SUVs are unable to safely fit three car seats (forget it if you already have other children). When you get to quads, it’s possible that you could run out of living space given the room needed for four cribs, high chairs, etc…. Plus, the cost of food, diapers, formula and clothing can approach a small fortune.

So even without the fame from a popular TV show, John and Kate had a number of challenges ahead of them. In part two of this, I’ll talk about the effects of fame and how it can be like winning the lottery – at first it seems likes a good thing but if you’re not careful, it can be the worst thing to happen to you.

Post from: Overnight Sensation

Why John and Kate Split

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If you either did not watch the Miss USA pageant last night or missed the story covered in the news, there was some backlash to an answer on a question on gay marriage. Taking the brunt of the storm is Miss California, who came in second, as people were shouting in the hallways after the event demanding that she be stripped of her runner up title. Normally, I’d ignore a story like this because it reeks of fluff – a term my high school social studies teacher, the late Mr. Bob Swanson, used to describe items that were printed in newspapers but had no real value. However, times have changed and there are some important lessons to be learned here.

As the story goes, Carrie Prejean was asked how she felt about gay marriage by a gossip blogger named Perez Hilton. Prior to the story breaking, I knew very little about Perez Hilton other than some of the folks I follow on Twitter would converse back and forth with him. I now know that he’s an openly gay gossip blogger that has enough of a following that he’d be chosen to judge this type of competition. With that being said, I still know little about him as I’m not interested in celebrity gossip (and his sexual orientation is irrelevant to me).

My gut reaction is that this question was grossly inappropriate for the situation. Whether the person who wrote the questionhad an agenda behind it is debatable. I will say that it shows poor judgment to choose a hot button issue for a question in a pageant as it created a hostile situation. I would say the same thing if the question were how she felt about abortion, global warming, President Obama’s job performance or the tea parties that happened this past week – there is a time and a place for those types of questions. The woman is looking to be an ambassador of goodwill, not to run for elected office. So it’s unfair to question her like a political candidate – ask her how she’s going to help kids avoid drugs, do her part to end world hunger or raise awareness for cancer research. So I feel that whoever approved the question deserves the majority of the backlash for allowing such a question.

Ms. Prejean then went on and answered the question. Here’s what she said:

“We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.”

How she handled the question is also debatable. She obviously couldn’t fire back and say “that question is inappropriate” but since she was treated like a politician, she would have been best off answering like one. She started off with a fine statement, but then she made the mistake of taking a position on the issue. After having plenty of time to think about the way I would have answered (a luxury Ms. Prejean didn’t have) I would have answered it as follows:

“This country has gone through its challenges in the realm of civil rights since its birth. I think it’s great that people are discussing the subject, as long as both sides can do it in a civil way, because these types of debates are what make our country strong. And whether you’re for it or against it, I’m just glad that this is a discussion that can be had without violence.”

It’s tough enough to answer questions in front of a live audience when you have an inkling of what might be asked. When you’re thrown an off the wall question and you’re in front of a live TV audience competing for something that you’ve dreamed about for years, the stakes are exponentially higher. What bothers me the most about Carrie Prejean’s answer is the reaction it got afterwards – and one of the reasons I tell people to avoid this topic in particular. People have very strong emotions on each side, so choosing any side is a losing proposition. Even if she said she was for it and told a heartwarming story of someone who dealt with discrimination, she would have gotten a backlash from the other side. So she was in a no-win situation by giving her opinion. Had she given my answer, she may have been criticized for not answering the question – yet another reason why it was inappropriate to ask it – but would have avoided some of the resulting anger.

So my personal feeling is that Carrie Prejean should be given a break. She was asked an inappropriate question and gave an honest opinion. If she said that she was strongly for gay marriage and the backlash came from the other side, I would feel the same way. Whether you agree or disagree with someone’s opinion, is it fair to hate them because of that opinion?

UPDATE:

After doing more research, I found that questions for these pageants are submitted and reviewed by the Miss USA organization ahead of time. As far as I’m concerned, Perez Hilton is completely off the hook for this one. However, he did say that he gave her a bad score because of her answer – which is a topic for another post.

What’s more troubling is the fact that the organization allowed a question like this to be submitted and asked, knowing that a truthful response is a losing situation for the contestant. The organization should have known better and there’s no excuse for it.

Post from: Overnight Sensation

Communicators in the News: Was Carrie Prejean’s Answer Inappropriate?

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