Indonesia will hold its first-ever direct presidential elections in July 2004. Noting that Indonesia is "a thriving democracy where public opinion matters," a partner in the Jakarta-based PR firm Maverick writes in today's Jakarta Post that "the more forward-thinking" candidates "have already appointed their image gurus." Not every candidate will clean up well, though.

"The Army has abandoned plans to outsource nearly one in six of its jobs to the private sector, a move that could have resulted in the loss of thousands of public affairs positions worldwide and a windfall of contracts for private PR firms," PR Week reports. "The outsourcing plan, first announced in late 2002, was part of President Bush's directive to trim the government by farming out all work not 'inherently governmental.' The Army also cited an interest in directing more of its resources to national security and the war on terrorism.

Today's New York Times quotes an unnamed Republican "close to the Bush campaign" who says the timing of the State of the Union speech -- one day after the Iowa caucuses -- is no accident.