Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is bringing ABC News White House correspondent Geoff Morrell on board as the new Pentagon press secretary, responsible for on-air briefings, Mike Allen reports, “in an effort to improve press relations at a time when the administration is under pressure to show progress in Iraq.”
Frankly, I’m not sure hiring Walter Cronkite could accomplish that at this point. Certainly, bringing on Tony Snow as White House spokesman didn’t result in a sudden spike in the president’s poll numbers.
The administration has generally done a good job of press relations, anyway. The problem has been the policies, not the spokesmen. And, to the extent communications has been a problem, it’s at the top of the chain of command, not the press secretaries.
