Aftermath of Cheney shooting incident highlights need to communicate in crisis Copyright © 2006 Abbott Public Relations. All Rights Reserved. "What we've got here is failure to communicate." So said a vicious captain guarding prisoners in the 1967 film "Cool Hand Luke." And it seems relevant to the failure of Vice President Dick Cheney to communicate with the nation after he accidentally shot his friend Harry Whittington in the face during a hunting trip Feb. 11. It was the first time a sitting vice president shot someone since Aaron Burr fatally shot Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in July, 1804. It’s newsworthy, and certainly deserves coverage, but shouldn’t be the end of Cheney’s career, since he didn’t exactly shoot Secretary of the Treasury John Snow. It’s not career-ending, that is, unless the aftermath continues to be handled badly. Then, it could very well be. One could make several cogent human arguments about why Cheney waited for so long to release a narrative of the events publicly. He may have been simply distraught about shooting his friend, he may have wanted to ensure that Whittington’s friends and family received word of the incident not through the media, but from Cheney or Whittington himself. Or, to put it bluntly, he may have been waiting to wait to see if his 78-year-old friend would actually pull through. Certainly all good arguments. But as vice president, he has a greater responsibility to disclosure, and as a political figure, he certainly has different standards apply to him and his office than the average person who accidentally shoots someone. And from a public relations point of view, waiting more than 20 hours to disclose the events was a horrible mistake. The most important thing you want to do in a crisis is get control of the story. But by delaying so long, it reinforced the stereotype that Cheney is "secretive," it allowed speculation that he had been drinking and was simply waiting for his blood alcohol level to drop seem plausible, and it gave the overall impression that something was "amiss." In fact, nothing like this is likely the case, but impressions, reinforced by a skeptical media, were set firmly in place by the decision to delay announcing the events. Reports that he ignored advice of White House aides like Karl Rove to put out at statement earlier, if true, are also disturbing. When people in trouble actually DO get advice from crisis managers, they should take it, especially from someone as politically astute as Rove. Cheney’s TV interview with Brit Hume, despite being an exclusive with a "friendly" FOX News anchor (which nonetheless angered all other media outlets) was a good first step in rebuilding credibility. Another element to remember is that it is said that Cheney doesn’t really care whether he’s credible or not. He’s not running for president in 2008, his political career is over after this stint as VP, and, to be honest, he hates the media and it’s really mutual. Despite those feelings, it has to be remembered that he is part of an "Executive Branch team," and anything that takes the focus off key messages that team wants to get out to the American people is a distraction at best, and a presidency-crippling scenario at worst. All one has to do is remember the Iran-Contra affair, Monica-gate and, of course, the extreme case of Watergate, along with numerous other minor "gates," to know that, given the chance, the press will flock to a story, latch onto it, and not let go. Sometimes this is fair, and expected. Other times, it’s not. That’s why it’s crucial to address the national media’s major concerns - while understanding that some people will raise minor ones forever - and then move on. This is all predicated, of course, on Whittington surviving the ordeal in the short term. Some steps the vice president’s team can take include making Cheney more available for a media event, perhaps a news conference with unfriendly reporters in attendance, and involving him in some other high-profile events that are designed to bring the focus back on important issues, and off these "lost 20 hours." That may not stop the press from saying Cheney is "trying to change the subject," but important steps must be taken in the next few days, and hiding the vice president away in an "undisclosed location" is not one of them. That will literally bring charges of a "bunker mentality" that will continue to distract him and the president’s "team" from other business. Stephen Abbott, 39, is the principal of Abbott Public Relations, located in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.

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