New York businessman Anthony Scaramucci was brought into Donald Trump's dysfunctional and shambolic White House to serve as communications chief. He lasted less than a fortnight, the briefest tenure ever of anyone in that position.
In the 10 days that he unofficially served as Trump's communications impresario, Scaramucci proved a rollicking disaster and something of a communications nightmare.
In a telephone conversation with a reporter, he let loose a vulgar, profanity-laced and unprofessional tirade against West Wing opponents, one of whom he labeled a "paranoid schizophrenic".
Scaramucci broke one of the cardinal rules of a subordinate hired by a principal to offer communications services: "Don't become the story", a variation of "Do no harm!" Scaramucci's tirade dominated the news cycle, embarrassing Trump and making his White House seem even more like a disaster zone.
So incensed was incoming Chief of Staff John Kelly about Scaramucci's sophomoric and destabilizing conduct that one of his first acts after being sworn in was to eject the 10-day-old communications advisor from the White House.
In the event, it was Trump who was at fault for bringing in as his chief communications advisor someone with little experience in public communications, and someone who did not know well the ways and political heartbeat of Washington D.C.
There is a false notion that just about anyone can grasp or master the world of politics. Professionals in myriad fields and academics often think that because politics is ubiquitous, that its ways and means are fairly easily grasped. Many think likewise about political communication and rhetoric.
Such notions are wrongheaded. Politics and political communication require a sense of history, some understanding of human psychology and sociology, and experience. Just as some are more artistically inclined, some people are more inclined to the political arts.

Masterful
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is a natural-born politician. Clinton had both a superior intellect and a masterful political instinct. The two traits are not synonymous in the least.
There are many with high IQs and high academic pedigree who are amateurs at politics and who are gaffe-prone when it comes to political and public communication.
This includes a number of politicians in The Bahamas, current and past, who deemed themselves politically savvy because they excelled in some other professional field.
Quite a number of lawyers trained in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, especially those who earned their BTE (Been To England to study), thought themselves intellectually superior and politically more capable than politicians who studied in other fields or who were self-taught.
A number of those with the BTEs were often surprised and bested by those who had less formal training, but who were naturally better politicians. Character and political intelligence and sophistication are not synonymous with academic achievement.
The late Jamaican Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante was not a highly educated man, nor was he eloquent. But he was a brilliant politician who knew how to communicate effectively to the hearts and minds of the average Jamaican, who adored him.
"Buster", as he was affectionately nicknamed, was a labor leader and anti-colonialist. He was an effective newspaper letter writer, who used his pen to champion the cause of independence and worker's rights. He served as Jamaica's first prime minister from 1962 to 1967.
Bustamante, like former Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, had an instinct for the art of political communication, which goes beyond words to gesture and symbols.
At the funeral of a prominent Jamaican, Simpson Miller, then opposition leader, got up to give her seat to a family member of the deceased, while then Prime Minister Bruce Golding remained seated.
Clinton grew famously frustrated with his vice president, Al Gore, during the 2000 presidential contest in the U.S. Clinton could not understand how someone like Gore, who had risen so high in elected politics, could often be ineffective as a public and political communicator.
Clinton enjoyed the ability to summarize and articulate the most complex issues into language easily understood by the mass of Americans. He spoke in a direct manner, which conveyed empathy to just about every audience he spoke to. He is a natural empath.
But one does not need to be as empathetic as Clinton to communicate effectively. One key to better communication is learning when to speak, especially in our political context in a government of collective responsibility.
A rookie mistake often made by newly minted Cabinet ministers is to speak off the cuff when posed questions one is uncertain how to answer. It is typically best to refer such questions to the appropriate minister or official.
Politics and service as a Cabinet minister require a learning curve. New ministers should take their time and learn the ropes. They should seek mentors. And some ministers should learn to restrain their egos and stop talking just about every time a recorder is placed in front of them.
Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis has wisely decided on an orientation and training program for ministers and parliamentarians.

Intoxicated
It is best to speak judiciously and not defensively when asked a question. The rarefied environment of the Cabinet room can often leave one intoxicated and believing that one is more of an expert on a matter than one is.
Reporters know how to play to the ego of certain ministers who enjoy the limelight and coverage in the press. One is prone to gaffes when one's ego is stroked.
A minister should not generally opine on a detailed matter outside of one's portfolio. It is the prime minister who has the wider brief to speak on a range of topics on behalf of the government of the day.
Nor should a minister foolishly say that the government needs to address such and such a matter going forward, or that one's ministry should do so and so. Now that one is in the government, bring up the matter at the Cabinet table or in one's respective ministry.
In both the House of Assembly and in his other public and political communications, Works Minister Desmond Bannister is disciplined and deliberate in his public comments.
His recent budget presentation was well crafted. He did not give in to unnecessary asides, even when provoked by the opposition. Like Minnis in his wrap-up to the 2017/2018 budget debate, Bannister was able to back up his claims with the appropriate documents.
When he speaks to the press, Bannister is informed and careful. He is not prone to rambling commentary. Bannister is tempered and measured in both substance and tone.
Some individuals are naturally better politicians than others. Still, one can become better at the arts of politics and public communication by realizing one's limitations and by learning from those in history who have mastered the political arts.

o frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian