We have for the first time in a very long time a President who is genuine about whom he is. We have a President who is not crafty in the act of emotional manipulation of the public in crisis. It is absolutely wonderful that we have a President in the Whit House who truly understands the importance of appropriate management of negative emotion in conflict resolution and crisis situation. It doesn’t seem the media will allow him to be that President.

I teach youth and adults in conflict and crisis resolution the importance of appropriate management of emotion and avoiding anger in resolving conflicts and crisis. Here we are forcing the President of the United States to model public display of anger. When he did, we were all over him for using the words “kick ass.” Anger has no place in resolving crisis.

The Mind-Body-Spirit Connection:

The bio and psycho physiological consequence of anger is huge. When one gets angry, the body produces several different types of negative bio chemicals. These bio chemicals interfere with the activities and functions of the neurotransmitters. When this happens, the muscles of the body are tensed (stressed) and go into defensive mode. This affects the autonomous functions of the brain and threatens the body’s homeostasis (the body’s ability to maintain harmony).

Psycho physiologically, individual in angry state of mind looses cognitive ability to reason. The individual looses the ability to listen and understand the issues with empathy for the party/s involved, which is very crucial in conflict and crisis resolution. The angry individual also looses the ability for self evaluation and taking responsibility for one’s action. The angry individual tends to point fingers only to the other party/s and focuses more on negativity rather than solution. Because the individual is angry and in negative frame of mind, he or she would fail to recognize solution to a conflict or crisis even when the solution is right on his/her nose. Angry mind never solves any problem.

Political Consequences should President Obama begin to display public Anger

Have anyone noticed President Obama is a black man? President Obama cannot get way from displaying public emotion of anger like President Reagan, Clinton, Bush and other presidents before him. Black men by nature and physical characteristic appear threatening when they display emotion of anger. The decline of educated black men in corporate America which started in early 80s came about as a result of perceived angry persona most black men displayed in the corporate world. That persona did not sit well with the corporate America. That led to corporate rejection of many educated black men and massive influx of black women in the corporate America. Black women were hired to replace black men because they were not perceived to present as much threatening angry persona as the males.

President Obama is not an angry man. That is one of the reasons white electorates who voted for him for President of the United States did. He did not present and does not have a threatening personality most black leaders who came before him personified. It baffles me when even the black talking heads in the media join others in shouting at the President to get angry about BP Gulf oil spills. I wonder if these black talking heads understand the implications of the personality they are asking this president to portray in public. It would be a political disaster for the President to hand the media series of angry photographs of him. People on the other side of politics will make a political football with angry pictures of President Obama in the time of election. President Obama will also be replaced if he too falls in that angry trap.

Lessons for President Obama and the White House:

The White house would make a big mistake molding this President into an attack dog and forcing him to display angry emotion. What this White House and this President must learn is the Psychology of governmental crisis management. What does that mean? It means “Emotion Retail Politics in Crisis.” Here is how it works (1) Show up immediately at the site of a national crisis and visit in person with the citizens affected. Be sure you have your key people with you. (2) Genuinely talk to the people from the heart. Shake their hands. Give them hugs. Express a genuine understanding of their hurt. Convey and assure hope. Spend as much time as possible at the site of the crisis. Listen effectively to personal stories (3) Express to the people and the nation what you observed. (4) Introduce your team that will be helping you restore life. (5) Honestly share the preliminary plans. (6) Follow up and update the people and the nation in a timely fashion what progress or lack of it and why. (7) Control the message and show the people you and your team is in charge of the crisis. (8) Go back in a timely fashion to feel the citizens’ pulse and continue expression of your support and understanding of their pain. (9) Focus on the crisis at hand and the solution, not on the media distractions. (10) Do not take political criticisms personal. Regardless how well you handle things you and your team will still be criticized for not doing enough.

Emotion Retail Politics in Crisis can be coached and learned. Based on my observation of President Reagan, it appeared he mastered Emotion Retail Politics from his training as an actor.   President Clinton is genuinely a people person who derives joy and energy by the presence of people. It doesn’t matter who they are. Because of his up bring and family dynamics it appears he developed a genuine empathy for others growing up. He appears to strike kinship with every soul he crosses path with. Emotion Retail Politics is part of his inherent psyche.

President Obama has a similar personality with Charlie Crist of Florida. Governor Crist is just as cool and calm as President Obama.  He rarely expresses emotion of anger regardless what is happening around him. Governor Crist has a masterful style of Emotion Retail Politics in Crisis that is one of the most effective of any politician I have observed with a similar personality type as Governor Crist. President Obama will benefit immensely from Emotion Retail Politics in Crisis.

Here is the family dynamics dilemma for President Obama. If he plays into this none sense about getting angry he will begin to suffer from many problems manifesting in the life of men who are stressed and angry. Some of these problems are drop in libido, sexual dysfunction, loving and ability to make love. If he thinks he is having problem now he waits until the sister is denied in the bedroom and love department.

If the White House needs some help here is how I can be reached: drobanye@iiwih.org. Follow me on the tweet too.

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