The Best of Intentions, the Worst of Explanations: Fixing the Bill Lynn Blunder

Obama-watchers on both sides of the partisan divide are talking about the nomination of defense lobbyist Bill Lynn as Deputy Secretary of Defense. The nomination flies in the face of President Obama's day-one proclamation that no lobbyists would serve in his administration. The no-lobbyists policy obviously has merit, and Lynn may also be the best person for the job despite his lobbying, but all those good intentions have now collided head-on in the new administration's first misstep.

So imagine it's your first week working in the White House, and you're called upon to explain away the apparent contradiction/hypocrisy/lie of announcing a policy even as you violate it. What would you say?

So far at least two members of the administration have tried their hand at it, without much success. One anonymous administration official offered this: "When you set very tough rules, you need to have a mechanism for the occasional exception. We wanted to be really tough, but at the same time we didn't want to hamstring the new administration or turn the town upside down." This did not help much. As Chris Kelly remarked on HuffPo: "In other words, you can't let what you say get in the way of what you do."

The other effort didn't do much better: "Our waiver provisions are designed to allow uniquely qualified individuals like Bill Corr and Bill Lynn to serve the public interest in these critical times." Spencer Ackerman gave that a big raspberry, too, calling it: "transparently cynical."

It's worth noting that administration sources may have offered other lines as well, and these may just be what reporters seized on to poke fun at. But neither of these explanations do much good: neither offers any reason to think that the exception won't swallow the rule. And anyone who is unhappy with the situation is not going to be any less unhappy after hearing them.

But then, what else can you do? The contradiction couldn't be clearer.

It's true, you probably can't entirely square that circle, but that doesn't mean there's nothing else helpful to say. In fact, the patron saint of reconciling contrary positions, or at least calming the conflicts they create, is none other than Obama himself. Here's how Stephen Hayes explained Obama's remarkable gift for this on the Wall St. Journal's opinion page back in February of 2007:

His rhetorical gimmick is simple. When he addresses a contentious issue, Mr. Obama almost always begins his answer with a respectful nod in the direction of the view he is rejecting - a line or two that suggests he understands or perhaps even sympathizes with the concerns of [his opponent].

The article then describes Obama answering a town-hall question on the second Amendment: He starts with his scholarly opinion that individuals have a right to bear arms, and then expresses his respect for the role guns play in hunting and protecting our families. He then pivots, noting that none of that keeps us from doing common-sense things like tracking down illegal guns to prevent kids from getting killed. He then offers a resounding call to "respect the tradition of gun ownership in this country," and ends by saying "most lawful firearms owners" agree with his middle-ground position.

This is a beautiful example of something my partners and I call "Connect and Lead." If you want your audience to give you a fair hearing, you first have to connect with them emotionally where you find them. That means figuring out some level on which you can agree with them and validating their feelings, letting them know you get where they're coming from. Sometimes that can be very tough, of course, but if you don't do the work of empathizing with them, don't count on them sympathizing with you. Once you've connected with your audience and shown them that you're not unreasonable, then you can speak your piece, and you will at least be given a fair hearing.

So back to the conundrum at hand: what can you possibly say to explain the contradiction away? Step one is to forthrightly acknowledge the validity of the strong feelings behind the critics' opinions:

I understand the concern here. Clearly, if we are just handing out waivers left and right, then the exception swallows the rule, and we'd have been better off not announcing the rule in the first place.

Now you your audience knows that you understand the problem. They are no longer upset with you for being deliberately obtuse. And they can also tell that you want the same thing that they want: good rules that are consistently followed. Now they'll listen. Time to give it your best shot, to remind them what's better about doing it this way than doing it the old way, and hopefully lead them into your corner...

That's not how this works. The exception does not swallow the rule, the exception proves the rule's value. If we want someone who has done lobbying, we have to issue a waiver, and that waiver attracts attention: everyone is going to know that we're making an exception, so that appointment will get extra scrutiny to make sure that that appointee really is the best person for the job. That extra scrutiny is important, and that's how the policy is designed. If the President hadn't announced this policy, this issue might not be getting as much attention. So the fact that we're all talking about this is a good thing - it means that the President's policy is working. It brings new transparency to the process of making political appointments.

There is no magic technique here besides looking on the bright side. It is nice that you end up congratulating the press for being so tenacious, which is sweet music to their ears.

One last question: is this just spin? Is it still 'transparently cynical"? Or is it actually true that the policy is meant to work this way, that this is what the White House wanted all along? I don't know if they get full credit for foresight here. But I do think the administration issued the policy with the best of intentions, and that by issuing the policy they raised expectations for their behavior, and that's a good thing. If Bill Lynn is confirmed, he'll know that anything he does that benefits Raytheon is going to attract attention, and require a good explanation. And that is a good thing. I just hope next time the White House does a little better job of explaining themselves ahead of time.

Comments

[repearwo]

Rules and plans are made to be broken and altered. They just show where the path is intended to go. If a rule gets too many exceptions then you know it and need to alter the rule.

"I"before "E" except before "C", is an excellent example. The rule contains and exception, but there are exceptions to that, yet we all are expected to know how to spell, right. No cynicism there.

My suggestion is that the cynical find the cynicism.

[CitizenFace]

Sumocat:
"Lynn is the exception that proves the rule. Without the rule, there would be no fuss over the nomination. With the rule, Lynn is the test that brings scrutiny to it. It's not a matter of whether this was the original intent."

Hehe. That's cute.

"Don't punish me for breaking the rule, because the discretion proves that the rule exists."

Sorry, that does nothing but demonstrate the needlessness of a given rule.

You're right that without the rule there wouldn't have been as much fuss over the nomination. Probably because in that case the nomination would not appear to break any rules.

What WAS the original intent of the rule, if not to keep lobbyists out of the administration? To claim that it was to bring scrutiny to those lobbyists who DO enter the administration by dint of their great qualifications is circuitous and self-defeating if this reasoning is used to argue that Lynn's nomination, and thus this rule violation, is above board and doesn't need to be scrutinized further. It can't work both ways.

[ceindependence]

Words! Just Words! Words should mean something. Integrity should meand something. The facts with the Obama administration sure show otherwise. Not even a week before selling out.

[AnnfromCA]

It's hypocracy, no doubt. But probably a bit of exaggeration in reaction. This type of thing isn't important to the average person. It is the build-up of similar missteps that finally fleshes out the character of a person.

The FIRST misstep in this arena was gaining favor by being so strongly a proponent of campaign finance and then dancing away when it came time to stick to the promise.

In short, anyone who was paying attention shouldn't be surprised by this action in the least. Obama hasn't been a politician who deeply considers consistency as important.

[FearlessFreep]

"This type of thing isn't important to the average person." Neither was the third-rate burglary in the Watergate hotel.

[camper65]

First of many "missteps", I suspect.

[TN60]

This issue along with the other nitpicking, should not have made a story. It wouldn't have if the Republican lap dogs in the media weren't trying to jump on the bandwagon of trying to be the big responsible beings that they were under Bush. They are pitiful in their attempt to be revelant.

I personally dont give a flying F what a guy has done, short of being stupid. If he can help this country after the last year of total debacles, then let him do it. It's Obama's call. Maybe he is there to watch Gates !!

[cheforacle]

I am a big-time Obama supporter (who worked for him during the campaign and have blogged here and on his behalf) but it appears he is not only violating his own rule he announced last week but breaking his promise to supporters. He gained a lot of traction from this position and thus deserves criticism for this waiver of the rule. Both he and Gates should answer questions why this guy should be a Deputy Secretary and Obama should admit the inherent hypocrisy. They should explain why they agree to appoint this guy and Obama should take responsibility. Anything less is an abuse of the trust we have placed in him.

[blueshift]

They are all pigs eating from the same trough. It's just the beginning.

[steamboat]

You either have a no-lobbyist policy or not....None of this 'waivers' for certain people and friends.....And how much did Raytheon give the Obama campaign during the election season?

[PIAPS]

Pretty soon Obama will just change the name/job description of lobbyists and it won't matter anymore.
He's soooo ethical.

[Sumocat]

Lynn is the exception that proves the rule. Without the rule, there would be no fuss over the nomination. With the rule, Lynn is the test that brings scrutiny to it. It's not a matter of whether this was the original intent. This is how rules and exceptions work.

[steamboat]

You have mastered the art of talking out of both sides of your mouth.

[jestfam]

What? Man you must be my old Sociology professor. I could not understand him and now your here. To much of a coincidence.

[rf dude]

Now, the Trolls I can filter out - the grumbly whiny noise that will issue from them for the next 8 (or 16) years has already become background noise to be ignored.

But you "O" supporters - where are you? Don't tell me that you're going to join the chorus every time there is a perceived diversion from perfection - you are better than that!

Yes, keep the new administration honest, open, forthright - all the things that the previous Administration was NOT. But breathe _in_ once in a while, too.

The Man has been at the desk for less than a week, has already made a HUGE difference in the very fabric of our reality both here and abroad - cut a little slack already!

Gates is a holdover, soon to go join the Crawford Crew. Gates asked for this Lynn-fellow as deputy SOD or whatever - he will also go soon. This is a transition team, in the middle of a shooting war, and the Obama Administration is (yes, I hate to say it) making some small deals with the devil for the greater good.

But Satan has left the Whitehouse, now living in Texas - and his demi-demons will soon follow.

In the meantime, think of what a McCain-Palin Administration would be doing to you right now and RELAX - it's _really_, _really_ good now!!!!!
-

[davidly]

This sounds like, "Keep him honest, but not this time."

[rf dude]

Hi Davidly - no, more like " Keep them honest and make sure they know you're watching".

Keep the big stick for big mistakes - of which this is not one, nor is it the " slippery slope " for which everybody seems to be so eagerly searching.

Let the trolls do the teeth-knashing schtick - we've got a lot of work to do and don't need to start the infighting already over non-issues.

Let the trolls be the keepers of Absolutist Behaviour - that is, of never allowing even the slightest deviation from what they perceive as the right-way-­to-do-thin­gs. That's a Fundy mode of thinking, not Progressive!

He's gonna make slips, of which this looks like one.

Just please don't expect the new Administration to get it perfect _every_ time for at least a month or two - we aren't on the old Bush Path anymore, things will only get better!!
-

[StephenJK]

Seconded.

[didntvote4him]

No lobbyists in my administration. Oh never mind. It depends on what the definition of lobbyist is.

[plugger]

First mistake?.... How about Geithner

[FearlessFreep]

How about Rahm Emmanuel?

[nomobull]

`how bout you stop nitpicking and using sound bite arguments.

[plzchuteme]

As an addendum to my previous post, I want to highlight something written near the end of Mr. Neffinger's post. "If Mr. Lynn is confirmed,he'll know that anything he does that benefits Raytheon is going to attract attention, and require a good explanation." Didn't the no-bid, monopolistic, awarding of contracts to Halliburton attract attention? We have seen how well that all worked out, and I'm still waiting for THAT explanation.

[didntvote4him]

You mean the no bid Halliburton contracts which originated under the Clinton administration, correct?

[plzchuteme]

I don't care if they were originated under Eisenhower. After 9/11, Halliburton was given the keys to the store and a blank check.

[steamboat]

You have mastered the "2-wrongs make a right" philosophy.

[plzchuteme]

Not at all. I was just pointing out that Halliburton created a little controversy, but no correction was made. I would expect that if Mr. Lynn's actions create questions or controversy, nothing would come it as well. "2-wrongs" are exactly that. "2 wrongs!" There are a lot of excuses made to defend some action or position because they may not be perceived as being as bad as someone else's actions and therefore excusable. I don't subscribe to this form of relativity.