You’ve got to hand it to Governor Rod Blagojevich. This guy is either a total loon, or the smartest person in the universe. Either way, you have to admit he has chutzpah. Instead of fighting against his impeachment in the Illinois Senate (or even attending his own trial), he mounted a massive PR campaign, doing a media tour of the country’s top news and talk shows.

The best article I saw appeared in the Denver Post. Columnist Al Lewis wrote, tongue in cheek, that he sees Blagojevich as a “one-of-a-kind American innovator in the field of crisis management,” and that the governor should write a book on the subject.

Blagojevich apparently has written off his chances of keeping his job and is laying the groundwork for his defense in his criminal trial by trying to win in the court of public opinion.

But here’s the important question: Will the American people see him as a charming “everyman” fighting injustice, or a shameless manipulator?

Dan Abrams has garnered lots of publicity lately. The former MSNBC anchor and top exec is launching a new PR/Media Training company. He will use actual working journalists to help his clients learn to deal with the media.

There’s been mild criticism about the idea of participating journalists having a conflict of interest by playing both sides of the fence. Five years ago, there would have been a major outcry. Maybe the low level of concern means that today the traditional rules of media ethics are obsolete.

But one thing that isn’t obsolete is the importance of spokespeople not volunteering or repeating negatives. The media is so drawn to negativity that you could say 99 positive things, but the one negative will end up in the title or the pull quote.

Add Dan Abrams to those who’ve been burned. No, don’t say, “I’m not training business people on how to deceive the media.” Try instead, “I’m training business people how to be clearer and more focused when doing interviews with the media.

The reaction to Arizona Cardinals star player Anquan Boldin’s temper tantrum during the NFC championship game was predictable. And it all happened because he didn’t want to stick around and talk to the media.

Once again, someone learns the heard way, you can’t run and you can’t hide from the media, (especially when you’re playing in a down-to-the-wire football game and arguing with your coach in front of the world).

Like many before him, Boldin thought if he didn’t make himself available after the game, the story would go away. And like many, he found out that his actions only magnified the incident. He admitted after practice on Thursday that his abrupt departure “made it worse.”

“The attention has grown,” he said. “Do you have to be careful? I guess so, but at the same time you can’t alter who your are.”

So during a week when Arizona was giddy about being in the Super Bowl for the first time ever, and when the national media should have been talking and writing about the Cardinals’ amazing season, their coaches and players, they instead focused on the one negative. Would Anguan Boldin be a distraction? Would he play for the Cardinals next year?

Yes the media are sensationalizing the incident, blowing it up out of proportion. But that’s what they do. It’s up to us not to add fuel for the fire.

No industry understands and prepares for crises more than the airlines. They know it’s not whether an accident will happen, it’s when.

They conduct practice drills. They develop messages and statements ahead of time. They have emergency teams ready to go the moment anything happens.

So why was US Airways CEO Doug Parker so wooden and passionless in his news conference in Tempe, AZ, after one of his planes landed in the Hudson River Thursday?

Not only did he look uncaring, but he also never verbally expressed one bit of empathy about the forced landing. And if a plane accident can be “good,” this was one of them. Not one of the 155 people aboard was killed! Boats immediately came to the rescue. The pilot was already being called a hero for his expert water landing.

Yet, amidst all this emotion, there was Parker reading his dull statement in a constant monotone. In contrast, a short time later, New York governor David Paterson summed up what everyone was feeling in one powerful soundbite.

“There was a heroic pilot who saved himself and approximately 154 other passengers this afternoon. We had the miracle on 34th Street. I believe we now have the miracle on the Hudson.”

Also in his statement, Parker asked the media not to speculate on the cause of the accident, which is like asking a dog not to eat steak that falls on the floor. Besides, it was already being reported that birds likely caused both engines to fail.

If this is how Parker handles a relatively “good” crash, imagine how he’d handle a real catastrophe.

The word is out everywhere from blogs and message boards to Computer World and the Wall Street Journal. Oracle has had a major layoff, but the company refuses to comment. Because of the lack of communication, rumors are filling the vacuum.

Some reports claim the layoffs amount to 8000 people, or about 10% of the workforce. Others say the figure is in the hundreds or low thousands

But why the “no comment,” allowing unbridled speculation to continue. It’s not like Oracle is alone in facing the economic downswing. They aren’t the first to lay off staff and they won’t be the last.

To me the company’s decision to keep quiet is a major mistake, and likely to make employee morale even lower than it already is.

This isn’t about communications, PR or media, but I have to blog about it anyway. The Arizona Cardinals are awesome! The fact that they are one game away from playing in the Super Bowl is surreal and absolutely unbelievable.

I’m one of the many fans who’ve have been here in Phoenix since the Cardinals arrived in 1987, watching team after team play embarrassing football. Every fall we’d be promised that “things will be different this year,” but they never were. The owner of the team, Bill Bidwill, was not one of my favorite people.

We fans were overjoyed that the 2008 Cardinals would get to play their first home playoff game since the 40’s. But to think they could actually win it, then go to Carolina and win on the road (after being 0-5 on the East coast this year) is still too much to comprehend.

Then the football gods aligned so that Philadelphia beat the 2007 world champion Giants. Now the Cardinals get another home playoff game. If they win that, I will feel as if I’m on another planet.

I usually like the Fox pregame team — Jimmy, Howie, Terry, and Michael — but none of them gave the Cardinals a chance on Saturday. Neither did the rest of the national sports media, with some even claiming the Cardinals were the worst playoff team in history. After the game, only Terry Bradshaw seemed contrite, saying that he’d never pick against the Cardinals again.

Well, guess what, the rest of you so-called media “experts” can just kiss my you-know-what!

Um, er, you know, if you’ve ever wondered whether it’s worth the effort to break a verbal tic habit, listen to Caroline Kennedy. She finally talked to the media about her quest to become a New York Senator. She should have worked with a media coach first.

I’m sure Kennedy is a smart, knowledgeable woman, but after hearing her interviews you’d never know it. As an example, here’s what she said when asked by the NY Times what sets her apart from other candidates:

“I think that there’s a range of views in the Democratic Party, and you know, I am a proud Democrat. Those are the values, you know — middle class tax relief, helping working families, fixing the health care system — those are the national priorities right now. So those are the issues that I would expect — I mean, I am a Democrat, that is, you know — I am trying to become a Democratic senator.”

The Times interview transcript showed that Kennedy said “you know” 130 times. In a 30 minute interview with the NY Daily News, the total was even worse. She said “you know” more than 200 times, with “um” almost as often.

We’re all guilty, myself included, of using verbal tics in our conversations. But when it becomes bad enough that people start counting, it’s time to take action. No matter how smart you are, when you use fillers, people perceive that you are unsure and lack credibility.

Granted, the habit is difficult to break. You must be vigilant every moment of every day for three or four weeks, monitoring each conversation and voice mail. Friends and family have to help with feedback. Ultimately, the key is learning to substitute silence for the non-words.

The best medicine I know of is prescribed by Toastmasters clubs. Every time speakers use fillers during meetings, they hear a bell or buzzer. For many, it’s a rude awakening.

As for Caroline — whether she wins the Senate seat or not, she needs to lose the “you knows.”