Pentagon Hires ABC Geoff Morrell as Spokesman

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is bringing ABC News White House correspondent Geoff Morrell on board as the new Pentagon press secretary, responsible for on-air briefings, Mike Allen reports, “in an effort to improve press relations at a time when the administration is under pressure to show progress in Iraq.”

Frankly, I’m not sure hiring Walter Cronkite could accomplish that at this point. Certainly, bringing on Tony Snow as White House spokesman didn’t result in a sudden spike in the president’s poll numbers.

The administration has generally done a good job of press relations, anyway. The problem has been the policies, not the spokesmen. And, to the extent communications has been a problem, it’s at the top of the chain of command, not the press secretaries.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. The administration has hired a bunch of people from non-political backgrounds to improve their communications. I recall an ad exec who went to either State or Defense.

    Karen Hughes, a politico, went to State to improve the nation’s overseas image. That went for naught.

    Maybe it’s just because the President is a lousy communicator that everyone else has to be. I can’t explain why seemingly capable people have been so ineffective projection U.S. messages.

  2. Triumph says:

    Karen Hughes, a politico, went to State to improve the nation’s overseas image. That went for naught.

    FYI–Karen Hughes was originally a TV anchor.

    Her appointment as “undersecretary of state for public Diplomacy” has been such a joke precisely because she has no background in foreign affairs.

  3. Andy says:

    I can’t explain why seemingly capable people have been so ineffective projection U.S. messages.

    I am confused. When have these people ever seemed capable of anything besides demonizing liberals?