Round 1 of Jack Welch v U.S. Gov was the tweet. Round 2 was all about TV. Round 3 was his quitting FORTUNE because the publication published criticism of his point of view. Now Round 4 is his op-ed in the conservative THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, along with 176 comments so far.
In terms of persuasion and influence, comments can be more important than the original commentary or feature. In this case, they are mixed.
Some champion Welch because they agree with him that gov lies. However, to say that in public could constitute libel if gov is out to prove in a court of law that it is not a liar.
Others opine that Welch is suffering from dementia and should just go away. But, as we might have noticed he has not gone away since his tweet Friday morning. Instead he has ramped up his presence.
Since for many of us the economy in the U.S. is improving (the legal sector even added 1000 jobs in September) we can enjoy this extended altercation as a type of entertainment. It's not really funny. Just a diversion. The media are feeding it. And we will continue to be diverted. That's a nice break from the high angst of the worst of the downturn.
Comments