2300: Good PR From the Whitehouse

An article in the New York Times about the State Dinner held at the White House shows that Obama understands his audience and is doing great PR. There are two things specifically that President Obama and Michelle Obama did that sent great messages to Americans. It was a dinner with a lot of world leaders, but the details are what really tell the story that the Obamas would have portrayed to the American people. Two things are the guests they invited, and the food they served.

1. Among celebrities such as Jennifer Hudson, Kurt Elling, and the music director from "Slumdog Millionare," there was an additional demographic. The Obamas had invited school-aged children from poor schools to the White House to witness the arrival of the guests. The children were treated to a tour of the White House and were given a sample of the pumpkin pie that was served to the guests at the dinner. Mrs. Obama even made herself available to speak with the children for a time in the Grand Dining Room. This I think shows that Obama understands how to follow up with actions that he has preached. He has wanted to be the President that understands the average Joe. He followed suit at least in this situation by having a room full of celebritites and world leaders, and taking the time and effort to invite the young minds of America.

2. The food at the dinner was local! Obama has made very clear his stance on energy, the environment, and oil. The First Lady has a vegetable and herb garden at the Whitehouse and many of the pieces served at the dinner came from there. This is a good message. He is not a hypocrit when he talks about saving the environment. He, the President of the United States, has a garden. And eats from it! This is a sustainable practice and a good part of his life to be shown to the public. The dinner was also mostly vegeterian. Not quite sure their stance on that, but I thought that it hinted towards their opinion on eating meat.

These two things are small but huge. They didn't set out to explain why they had done so, but the press received good information and I was impressed with the Obama's decisions.
The article can be found here.