Submitted by John Stauber on
"The chief executive of the Halliburton Company, Dave Lesar,
never imagined that he would be the star of his own
television commercial. But there he is, on the airwaves in
Washington and Houston, assuring viewers that his company
has billions of dollars in contracts to rebuild Iraq and
feed American troops 'because of what we know, not who we
know.' The unnamed 'who' is, of course, Vice President Dick
Cheney, Halliburton's chief executive from 1995 to 2000. ... The advertising, Mr. Lesar added, will continue until the
end of the presidential campaign 'because I don't believe
we're going to disappear as a political story.' But at a time when President Bush's own campaign commercials have yet to start, the Halliburton spots - two are on the air so far - have created an awkward situation
for the White House, which has not fallen over itself to
embrace them. ... Donny Deutsch, chairman and chief executive of the Deutsch advertising agency in New York, called the commercials
'insane. ... 'This just puts a spotlight and a
megaphone on the issue. ... It's a bizarre media strategy.' "
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