don't be a weasel.

The Gulf Coast tragedy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina can be dissected from my standpoints. Obviously, from a strategic perspective, the emergency response has been slow-footed, at best.

I can't help but look at the situation from a public relations standpoint, personally. To an outsider that may seem crass, but it really isn't. Public relations, when practiced ethically, is not about "spinning" or re-directing blame. It's about managing communication and maintaining relationships with your respective publics.

Local officials and disaster response personnel would've been greatly served by PR counsel.

One of the problems is there was no clear communications focal point. No briefings. No crisis team. Nothing. Therefore, the media were left to hunt for answers in the field. True, that's their job. But the resonating theme that still echoes is the lack of a prepared disaster response team, plan or communication channel.

And any PR counselor worth his or her salt would've told the bureaucrats to spare their publics the "we didn't know" rhetoric.

Michael Chertoff tried to deflect blame while assuming responsibility for the rescue and recovery efforts when he was on Nightline. His deflections seemes weasel-ly.

Nobody likes a weasel.

So first lesson of PR: DO NOT BE A WEASEL!!!