Pleasantly surprised

In victory, President-elect Obama was gracious and looking forward. In defeat, Sen. McCain was positive and bipartisan. Both showed leadership with messages to supporters and to those who did not vote for them. We asked the question last week about what each needed to communicate in acceptance and concession speeches.

So the first post election communications were strong and positive. Obama appeared sober, deciding that he would leave it for others to chest thump and avoiding an in-your-face or "look what we did" posture.

Can he keep up this positive, collaborative, "we have a lot of work to do" communication while taking advantage of the spoils of victory? Will McCain come back to Washington and help?

Advice for the incoming Communicator-In-Chief?

With just a few days left before the presidential election it's time to consider one of the most important tasks facing the President-Elect: taking on the role of Communicator-In-Chief.

Barack Obama and John McCain have revealed different styles, attributes and messages in a tough campaign.

How either Obama or McCain presents himself in their victory speeches, during the transition and at the inaugural speech will make a big difference in how a new admistration will be able to lead and govern. Its difficult to imagine a time when more Americans will be scrutinizing every word, nuance and gesture of a president-elect

Given what we know how do you see the communications challenges facing the winner? What advice would you give? Should they stick to what got them here, or adjust and adapt their communication strategy, tactics and tone? And what about the loser? Will boilerplate congratulations and pledges of bi-partisanship suffice, or is something more and different required in these times?