Ok, given that there’s only six decent stories a year in the Land of the Long White Shroud, let’s start overseas shall we?  When it comes to Media Training 101 here’s a great example of What Not To Do.  The subject, South Carolina’s hapless Governor,  Mark Sanford, who told his staff he was going hiking on the Appalachian Trail, when in fact he was chasing beaver in Argentina.  A year before political junkies could have detected that the little brain was thinking for the big one, when he went on CNN to defend Republican Presidential candidate, John McCain’s policies. What’s wrong with this picture?

Key messages?

Hell the guy doesn’t have any, let alone clear, concise thoughts that go to the heart of what he’s saying.

Here is an American politician who, before sex got in the way, was being touted as a possible Presidential candidate in 2012 and what does he do?  Blow a golden opportunity, that’s what. And yes, the pun is intentional.

Here’s What Governor Sandford Didn’t Do

• Marshall his thoughts – any thoughts
• Priorities those thoughts into messages
• The Key Message, the single most important thing he had to say should be backed by the subsequent messages
• Become succinct
• Work at how to answer the Devil’s Advocate questions while, at the same time, bridging back to his Key Messages

This is one of the worst types of ‘Own Goals’ I’ve ever seen in a television interview.  And perhaps that’s why even though the Good Governor was being touted for greater things, this politico’s career came tumbling down.  I’ll the last word to that fabulous journalistic leveler, The Jon Stewart Daily Show, to frame Sanford’s plight in the most flattering light in order to “get the get.”

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