A President should be rarely seen or heard?

Was reading a post this morning written by  Jennifer Harper for the Washington Times, regarding “The Obama Brand”. This particular topic holds a great fascination for me, as I believe that Obama should be hailed as one of the leading marketers of this generation. Quoting from the article:

“Does President Obama need more FDR, less Jimmy Carter and a dose of Ronald Reagan to ensure the staying power of his personal brand?

Media discretion could be the secret of commanding the global stage.

“Let’s face it, a president should probably be rarely heard and seen and then only strategically. There’s a reason why the Wizard of Oz stayed behind his curtain. There is something about the office of the presidency that just doesn’t do well with too much accessibility and too much of a human touch. Ronald Reagan understood this and played the presidency with the right doses of warmth, balance and gravitas,” says John Tantillo, a Manhattan marketing expert and Fox News contributor.”

I wholeheartedly disagree, and if this article is written with comments from the “best marketing minds” then it is a BOLD example of what it lacking in America’s big-business / political marketing approach. I firmly believe that the #1 reason that Obama succeeded in his bid for presidency is that he is AUTHENTIC. Not fake fireside authentic, not “wearing a suit / authoritative ” authentic, but truly open, honest and trustworthy. Remember those words?

People believe what he has to say, and will support his authentic image. Think about it – if your brand is honest, authentic, your followers will support you – even as you might make minor mis-steps. Look at his quip on the Tonight Show. Oops! But in reality, no big deal -after all,  he is human. People are flat-out LONGING to trust their leadership, and this has long been forgotten.

Dropping the dress code, appearing on Late night TV, all of the items that the article above “questions” are the key reasons Obama is succeeding. He is narrowing the gap between Americans at all ends of the class spectrum. He will look you in the eyes, and with no speech writer present, talk directly to you and tell you “everything will be ok” – and for the first time in decades, people believe him (worldwide).

A President should be rarely seen or heard? I hope these people work for my competitors – makes my life easy.