There is a lot of thought provoking material in this report on President Obama’s summer problems… partisanship aside, the issue for people interested in both public policy and corporate communications is how do you balance the centralized and decentralized tools to achieve not a consistent message but an effective one. The makeup of the President’s team reflects that of many companies, divergent opinions and generational gaps that conspire to present challenges not easily overcome.

[From Obama's media skills face pivotal test - John F. Harris and Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com]

The summer storms, however, highlighted two realities. One is that — for all Obama’s campaign team was celebrated for its use of “new media” and “social networking”— his White House is split along generational lines that may limit its dexterity.

Increasingly I am of the opinion that traditional corporate communication playbooks need to be thrown out the window and remade not just because of new tools but because the public is adept at sorting through doublespeak and the decentralized media is very good at drilling into specific areas of detail, far better than any major media outlet is.