American Politics Journal

The View from Europe
When Spin Backfires
By Nicola Mitchell

Oct. 22, 2001 - LONDON (APJP) -- With the military battle in Afghanistan entering a new phase, here in Britain another battle has erupted, and this time it centres on the media and its war against spin doctors.

Tony Blair's New Labour government has always faced criticism about its consistent use of political media fixers. In fact, so successful has been Blair's press team that even Bill Clinton was led to request the presence of Alistair Campbell, the fairest spinner of them all, at the height of the Monica Lewinsky "scandal."

But now it seems Labour's use of spin may have finally gone too far. One of the main stories of the week in the UK has centred around Jo Moore, special adviser to the transport secretary, Stephen Byers, and an email she sent shortly after the World Trade Centre attacks on September 11th.

The email encouraged staff that "this would be a good day to bury" any bad news that had been stored up, and since its release in the press the email has caused outrage, forcing the Labour spin machine to work in overdrive to protect one of its own.

Although I'm not condoning Moore's actions, at the end of the day, the woman was doing what she had been trained to do. She's a political spin doctor, and no matter how cold hearted her actions may appear, she was instinctively doing what she was paid to do - and that is probably the reason Blair has refused to sack her.

One of the problems I do believe such an action has produced is an increased distrust in government officials at a time when trust is the most crucial quality the people need to see in their leaders. Even though Blair's approval ratings are high, you can't expect them to stay that way if people don't trust what he is saying, particularly during times of war.

Meanwhile, during any spare time the media had left over from spin bashing, they were speculating about Senator Daschle's chances of becoming the next president.

Only in Washington could the receipt of a potentially lethal letter, and the subsequent way that person handles himself, see his political career bolstered. To his advantage Daschle did not run at the first sign of trouble, just as Bush did when the news of the attacks first broke, and just as some have criticised the leaders of the House for doing at the threat of anthrax. But to be honest, we should all be thankful that Bush is no good in a crisis, or else he might stand a chance of keeping hold of the job.

Finally, although the Labour spin machine is having problems, I think their American counterparts could do with taking some useful hints. I must say that the constant remarks about Cheney's whereabouts being a source of national security only add to the assumption that it is him, and not Bush, who is in control. Let's face it: we all know it's true, but one would think the White House press corps would be trying a little harder to hide it.

Maybe Blair should think about giving Moore a transfer to show them how its done.