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FOIA Number: 2006-0466-F
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MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting
Series/Staff Member:
Jonathan Prince
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
10441
FolderiD:
Folder Title:
1994 Strategic Communications Memos
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91
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�'', f
.. I
'
-DRAFT ONE October 4,. 1994 ·DRAFT ONE
MEMORANDUM FOR MARK GEARAN
FRpM:.
JONATHAN PRINCE
SUBJEC'I':
End-of-Se'ssion Planning
','1
>
•
GOALS
/
To aggressively demonstrate:
'.
· Becau~~.of th~ Presi~~ht's leadersh~p o~ 9ongress
Through,ohe
o~
the most productive sessions in histor.y,
Gov.ernment is working_ for ordinary Americans again and is
. Alread·y making a differenc;::e in people's lives.·
STRATEGY
Good· news~. The single· greate·st advantage we ·have is that the
facts are on ·our side! , , i
.
'I
this. President and this Congre~s have enA6ted signific~nt
legislation, in a hos·t of areas tpat ~ave been ·-b~ocked and
stymied in one.fa~hion
or another
for yeats.
.
.
·.
.
'
'
'
.
.
'
. Bad news. The greatest obsta.cle we fac::e is the relatj. vely ·few but
obviously high profile
le~isl~tive.setbacks;
·
~uggestions .. I believe the best .route to demonstrate the
.
magnitude of our successes is ~o- place each. of.,them in historical ·
context: When Leon Pane·tta' t·alks about the- Crime Bill, Joe Biden
I
should. be at his side repeating "Six years, six_ 'years,'' like a
... mantra. And he should explain why ·and how and who. blocked it to·
show exactly wh?t Bill Clinton ''s l~adership over<;::am~. Secondly, I fhink that we ~hould not re~trict' our briefings_t~ .
.the generalist-generalist model. Cabinet Members should. meet
wt:th· thei~ beat repo_rters and column'ists ·that -have a particular
interest in thei-r issues. Fo:r: example, Secretary -Riley and Rep ..
Ford should do.a meeting with_education reporters.· ·.
I pro'pose· \:Vh,at is essentially a two-tone;· two.:..tier ·approach:
Two-tone. Each m~eting, , briefing,
•
I
~tc. (unless, of c;ourse, the·President does any) should be· conducted by someone 'who pla·ys
"Spokesperson" and someone who plays "Histo~·ian." The
Spokespe:r:son is. the .·senior Administration official; the Historian
'·'
'{
�.~.
To:
From:
RE:
Mark
Dawn
Recommedations for end of session press
If we could prepare a document for release (based on your
compilations of the President's achievements that could be
distributed as "the record", we should then have:
POTUS (or Ickes/Griffin) at Sperling Breakfast
POTUS meet with USA Today editorial board or at least
meet with Mark Memmott USA TODAY business editor (column on
business record)
Ickes/Panetta meet with news magazines
Rivlin meet with USA TODAY editorial board (their request)
Panetta/Ickes
visit network bureaus (ABC, NBC,CBS, ABC)
Panetta/Ickes meet with wires/financial wires
POTUS/VPOTUS should do mid-term ed boards when on the road
Panetta has a speech at the National press club {not til 10/24)
Rubin travels to Philadelphia on 10/14 to address the Associated
Press Managing Editors
POTUS could do TALK OF THE NATION, NPR {long-standing request)
Panetta/Rubin on C-SPAN for a one-hour "end of session" special
{this would run over and over)
Rubin or Tyson or Rivlin -- Chamber of Commerce speech
Panetta or Gore do network radio roundtable
Rubin or Tyson -- Wall Street speech
Panetta meet with editorial boards at Wash Post, NYT, USA Today,
Wall Street Journal, etc.
POTUS could do a prime time network show
Lake and/or Berger should do the top five editorial boards
We could split up the tongs and do them all {they'd be most
interested in Ickes, but also Rivlin, Tyson, Rubin/Sperling)
,.
-!1
�----~-----------------------------
August 1, 1994
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
From:
Mark Gearan
Subject:
Primetime Press Conference
The press conference scheduled for Wednesday affords you an
opportunity to accomplish three major objectives:
•
To give extended remarks on the need for health care reform and
the importance of universal coverage;
•
To take credit -- if the vote has taken place -- for a successful
crime bill and pivot off that success to demonstrate that Washington
is working for people, that your agenda is moving forward here and
to show that health care reform can get done;
•
To reassure the American people about the humanitarian effort in
Rwanda, the situation in Haiti and the conflict in Bosnia.
The effect of a prime-time news conference will be to increase your stake
in the upcoming congressional votes on health care.
Obviously, there are several snares to be aware of during the press
conference: being drawn into a web of questions on the Whitewater hearings
and answering a line of questions about polls and process.
Attached is a book with proposed Q & A on a number of topics that may
come up during the press conference. We will supplement it on Tuesday and
Wednesday.
�E X E C U T I V E
0 F F I· C E
0 F
T H E
P R E S I D E
11-Mar-1994 03:03pm
TO:
(See Below)
FROM:
David Dreyer
Office of Communications
SUBJECT:
Read This Memo at Mack's Request
Memorandum
To:
Cc:
Fr:
Re:
Mack McLarty
Leon Panetta
David Dreyer and Rahm Emanuel
Message Memo/Storyline of the Clinton Presidency
March 9, 1994
With help from Stan Greenberg, we present an idea for a storyline
for the Administration that situates the President's program and
his personae within a common theme:
Breaking gridlock and
fighting the special interests on behalf of the middle class.
This memo discusses why having a story line is important; it
lays out our best thinking on what a unifying narrative
would sound like; and it proposes a plan of action for
implementing it.
A.
Telling this story is essential:
1.
People need to understand why the President is working on
the economy, health care, welfare reform, education and crime.
What is at the center of this agenda?
2.
The accomplishments will last longer and stand the President
in better sted if they are viewed as part of a philosophy, a
coherent whole.
3.
There is a symmetry between the President's professional
goals and his personal experience -- the President is fighting to
renew the middle class life style because he is a successful
example of what this system of opportunity, responsibility and
reward can produce.
His story is the story of the country's
strength.
4.
Presenting the history and values of the President should be
�a communications goal of our organization, because that adds
another dimension beyond the President's policy side -- a
dimension that should be communicated now more clearly than ever.
5.
The middle class message is a uniquely Democratic message
that can nevertheless be told in a non-partisan tone.
6.
The message must advance beyond simply "breaking gridlock,"
because it lacks content, it identifies our Congressional allies
as ,part of the problem, and it fails to situate the President at
the side of his constituents and against the special interests.
We can do better.
�B.
How the Message Should Sound
For years, Washington paid attention to the wealthiest few
and ignored what was happening to ordinary Americans in their
daily lives -- declining income, job insecurity, skyrocketing
health care costs, family break down and embattled neighborhoods.
Average people were working hard, indeed harder, playing by the
rules, yet losing control over their lives; they enjoyed less
buying power, less say at the work place, less power in the labor
market; they were vulnerable before unfair insurance company
practices and vulnerable to crime and family break-up. None of
this seemed to matter in Washington.
Bill Clinton's election was a wake-up call to Washington to
get back in touch with the lives of middle class Americans. Since
coming to office, the President has been working hard to force
Washington to pay attention and to address these issues. He cares
as much about the middle class as the Reagan Administration cared
about the rich.
That is because Bill Clinton's story is an American success
story. He learned the struggles of average people by living
those struggles -- being raised by a strong mother, a working
mother. He learned the power of education; he earned his way
through college and law school. He was brought up in communities
where people cared about and trusted each other. Bill Clinton,
as President, honors the way he started life by fighting to
restore and renew opportunities for middle class people.
That's why Bill Clinton has introduced a reemployment
training program that will help people get the training and the
skills they need to gain employment, change jobs, and get ahead
in the new economy. His economic program has already created two
millions jobs. He has introduced a bold health care reform
program so that people have health insurance they can depend upon
--that they can never lose, whether they get sick or change jobs.
He is backing anti-crime initiatives they get violent offenders
and assault weapons off the street and that put 100,000 new
police on the street. He is insisting on welfare reform that
ends welfare as we know it, rewards work instead of idleness, and
stands with the people who want to escape dependency. He is
pushing ahead with a deficit reduction program and his
reinventing government initiative to make sure ordinary taxpayers
get their money's worth in Washington.
Finally, he has put
international economics to the center of foreign policy because
global growth and access for American products overseas is
necessary for the economic health of the United States and for
the economic security of our citizens.
Bill Clinton is working, against the odds (status quo,
special interests, etc.) to make Washington work for and respect
the lives of middle class America again.
�- - - - - - -
C.
-------------
----
- - - - - - - - - - -
Proposal
1.
The President should approve this story line and with it our
recommendation to repeat the umbrella theme covering the economy,
health care, welfare reform, crime and education as a litany
whenever he addresses one or more of these subjects.
2.
Every element of the Administration -- speech writers,
Cabinet Officials and their public affairs people, the DNC and
the Hill -- should be asked to incorporate these themes in their
speeches and message making operations.
3.
The President should give a speech about this theme
--covering his personal history and how this story is also the
nation's story. We can draft a Georgetown-style speech with
references to Presidents, like Jefferson and Roosevelt, to
scholars, like David Riesman and David Potter, to the
circumstances of middle class people today, to this history of
the President's own upbringing.
What makes Bill Clinton's accomplishments and orientation so
interesting is that Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy spoke to
the historic middle class constituency of the Democratic Party
from personal backgrounds characterized by privilege and great
wealth. The President's appeal to the broad middle class is more
authentic, because it comes from someone who experienced the
struggle that middle class people feel today.
Finally, the antidote to attacks on the "character" of
Arkansas is not to run away from the State, but to remind people
that the President worked his way from humble circumstances and,
like in his vision of America, his work was rewarded. This is
not a new suggestion. Preconvention research, I am told,
presaged the use of the HOPE film, and rhetorical references in
the acceptance speech, to counteract a misunderstanding of the
President's background by people who heard about his training at
Oxford and Yale. Back then, the public believed then Governor
Clinton came from an affluent lifestyle. That impression was
corrected. We should remember this history and reinvigorate this
strategy.
Distribution:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
Heather Beckel
Dianna A. Pierce
Timothy J. Keating
Katherine L. Darwin
Janice A. Enright
Damon J. Hernmerdinger
S. Collier Andress
Steven A. Cohen
Sylvia M. Mathews
Gene B. Sperling
Carol H. Rasco
�.
\
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
TO:
Evelyn s. Lieberman
Jack Quinn
FAX (95447020,Stanley)
FAX (93387554,Mandy)
Paul A. Toback
Carola McGiffert
CC:
CC:
George Stephanopoulos
David R. Gergen
Patrick J. Griffin
Philip Lader
Harold Ickes
Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer
Ricki L. Seidman
Mark Gearan
Robert E. Rubin
Margaret A. Williams
cc:
CC:
CC:
CC:
CC:
CC:
CC:
CC:
�···~
.··
,.-·
.
Communications' Department
Tuesday, February 3, 1994
I.
Summary
This memo~andum outlines the Conununications Departments'
plans for 1994. It focuses primarily on the means the
Conununications Department uses to relay its message and not on
the actual shape of the message. That is a larger question that
we do not address here. ·
II.
.Television
Overall, the Conununications Department•s•strategy for
television will not change dramatically. However, there may be
changes in emphasis over the year, including ·some of the
following:.
•
Placing the President on prime time more often;
•
Inviting targeted affiliates to the White House more often
for one-on-ones with the President;
•
Improving coordination of weekend show appearances;
•
Increasing attention to FOX and the new networks created by
Time-Warner and'paramount; and ·
•
Moving away from satellite tours with the President.
A.
Network News
We will continue our current working relationship with the
networks on evening and morning news. We will continue to
coordinate .all administration appearances on the morning shows,
the evening news and CNN.
B.
Prime-time Shows
We are exploring how often the President appeared on prime
time last year and will forward reconunendations on improving
coverage of the administration during prime time. Prime-time
newsmagazines ---Primetime Live, Dateline NBC, Eye to Eye with
Connie Chung -- typically offer an extended format and have far
higher ratings than evening news shows. To supplement this
project, we are analyzing the ratings and viewership of top news
and news magazine sho~s.
�.,
Communications Plan
Page 2
C.
Weekend Shows
In 1994, the Communications Department plans to continue
'coordinating administration appearances on the weekend shows,
using those appearances to make news for the Monday papers and
ensuring that .administration surrogates are thoroughly briefed
before they go on the shows. To make the most of these shows, we
will do the following:
•
with the Saturday radio address so that
administration officials who appear on the shows drive
home the Saturday radio address message and create news
for the Monday papers;
•
Appoint a "SWAT" team each week to work with those who
will appear on shows to hone our message;
•
Help prepare Democrats -- mayors, governors, members of
Congress -- who are slated to appear on the shows;
•
Provide weekend shows with creative ideas and line-ups
that dovetail with our agenda.
•
Educate the pundits in a systematic way on major
administration initiatives;
D.
Specials
•
Develop a more creative, pro-active approach to
television specials.
E~
Soft News Shows
F.
Satellites - Regional Affiliates
Coo~dinate
We plan to place a heavier emphasis on efforts to bring
regional affiliates to the White House. We will continue to
use satellite tours with the Cabinet and surrogates around
major speeches and events. The affiliate-satellite
strategy will include some of the following measures:
•
Coordinate invitations to affiliates with
administration announcements or to frame
presidential trips;
•
Develop list of targeted affiliates with Stan
Greenberg to supplement the health care list;
•
Continue use of satellite press conferences for
targeted audiences on particular issues;
'•i
�Communications Plan
Page 3
III. Print
In 1994, our strategy for the print media will have some
shifts in emphasis:
•
Heighten attention to regional dailies and magazines.
•
Use exclusive interviews with the President more
systematically with progressive columnists: Michael Kinsley.
Joe Klein, Walter Shapiro, Sidney Blumenthal, E.J. Dionne,
etc.
·
·
•
Develop a master calendar of interview requests and built-in
events.
·
A.
Major Dailies
In general, we do not ~nticipate making any major
changes in our approach to the major daily newspapers. We
will be improving the use of the briefing room, particularly
during days when there is a news vacuum.
B.
o
Weeklies
Continue Friday briefings for the big four weekly
magazines.
·
•
Target weekly and monthiy magazines for interviews with
the President and other senior administration officials
for later this year.
C.
Regional Press
This past year, we have brought in regional reporters
for round-tables from time to time and held briefings for
reporters who were in Washington for NGA meetings or some
other event. We plan to heighten our attention to reporters
from regional reporters in a number of ways:
•
o
Develop list of top regional political editors,
columnists (Tom Fiedler, Tom Baxter; Fred Brown, etc.)
for round-table in Washington, D.C.
Bring local ''non-political" columnists in for a day at
the White House: Herb Caen of San Francisco, Mike
Royko of Chicago, Jimmy Breslin of New York, etc.
�',
Communications Plan
Page 4
•
Begin a series of meetings with reporters from the
larger regional newspapers :(Hartford Courant, Arizona
Republic, Denver Post) based here in Washington who do
not regularly cover the White House.
D.
Specialty - Trade
We plari to devel6p a targeted list of specialty and
trade magazines based on demographics and circulation. We
will then construct a list of potential interviews based on
the year's top legislative priorities, and foreign and
domestic travel.
·
·
IV.
Radio
A.
News Shows
Open
B.
Weekly Radio Address
We plan to use the Saturday radio address more often to
make news, and coordinate that news with planned appearances
on the Sunday shows. In order to m~ke news with the radio
address, we will have to take some of the following steps:
0
Lock the news hook down early.in the week
•
Resist pre-ta~ing the address, as it significantly
undercuts the news value;
•
Solicit ideas from the Cabinet on initiatives that
would make news for the address;
•
Employ co-addresses more often -- as in last year's reinventing government with the Vice President;
0
"
Drive the news through accompanying press releases and
post-address background briefings;
Explore ways to use an audienee in the Oval Office from
time to time to tell a story;
�.'
Communications Plan
Page 5
c.
Regional Talk Radio
We plan to heighten our attention to regional radio, by
scheduling the President talk with top regional radio talk
shows, targeting progressive talk show hosts, hosting
another large-scale radio event at the White House and
inviting regional radio stations in to host the Saturday
·address. To implement this plan, we will do the following:
V.
•
Schedule the President for drive-time interviews
·with talk hosts in the major markets;
•
Develop targeted list of progressive talk-show
hosts who may not have received much attention;
•
Develop more White House staff as regular radio
talk show participants.
Oval Office Addresses
We are taking a look at television (network and cable)
coverage of last year's Oval· Office addresses and may recommend a
slightly different approach this year.
VI.
Press Conferences
We are studying how the networks and cable stations covered
presidential ~ress conferences last year. We will have some
recommendations for this year shortly.
VII. Social Time
Last year, we undertook a concerted effort to bring top
Washington opinion leaders into the White House for social
events . . This year, we will continue that effort while broadening
our approach to include editors, publishers, columnists, radio
hosts, and correspondents from outside Washington.
•
Develop a targeted list of opinion leaders from around the
country and into small dinners, larger parties, jogs, and
other social occasions;
•
Schedule the President for regular luncheons with selected
members of the press;
•
Use social events more often to fill out the public's
picture of the First Family -- e.g. the upcoming dinner with
mystery writers;
�·~
·'·
Communications Plan
Page 6
Public Service Announcements -- Video Messages
VIII.
This year, we plan to develop a more pro-active and targeted
approach to video messages and public service. announcements. To
begin that effort, we will create a targeted list of groups and
conventions for video announcements~
The Briefing Room
IX.
We will to continue to use the briefing room to make
news on slow days and to amplify and provide context for
news that the President is making on other days. To
accomplish that, we will solicit ideas from Cabinet on
initiatives to announce from the briefing room, while
reminding the Cabinet that the White House should have the
first shot at big news items.
Press Around Presidential Trips
X.
In order to improve communications before during and after
presidential trips around the country, we are planning to take a
number of steps:
o
Designate a senior communications person to handle
"message" of every trip . . Designated communications
person will focus on defining the message and creating
advance media interest on the ground.
•
Schedule advance press briefings for journalists before
trips to their areas.
•
Work on extending coverage of trips, feeding stories in
advance of arrival.
•
Designated communications person will be responsible
for disseminating information within the Communications
Department, particularly to travelling press staff.
�XI.
Letters and Publications
We are putting together a ·master-list of major publications
that the administration disseminates over the course of the year.
Giving ourselves some lead time on these publications will allow
us to·
�
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Jonathan Prince
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Office of Speechwriting
Jonathan Prince
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1993-1998
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<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36296" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
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Jonathan Prince served in various capacities during the two terms of the Administration. He was one of President Clinton’s speechwriters, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, and directed the public relations effort related to the fallout from the bombing of refugees by NATO forces during the war in Kosovo. This collection consists his speechwriting files which contain speech drafts, handwritten notes, memoranda, correspondence, publications, and schedules. Prince wrote most of President Clinton’s radio addresses from 1993-1997. He also specialized in dealing with domestic issues such as crime, gun control, unemployment, urban development, and welfare.
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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187 folders in 11 boxes
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1994 Strategic Communications Memos
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Jonathan Prince
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2006-0466-F
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Box 4
<a href="http://www.clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0466-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7763293" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
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Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
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7763293