Today’s press conference by President Bush was his last and — by all appearances — his most unscripted. Here was the 43rd President at turns dismissive, angry, jocular, self-deprecating and defensive in describing his eight years in office. What stood out, however, in relation to America’s image, was Bush’s rambling, disputatious monologue when asked about America’s "moral standing:"

Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy James Glassman gave a comprehensive overview of his vision for the next phase of United States public diplomacy during his talk in early December at the New America Foundation.

The much maligned Alhurra, the U.S. government's Arabic TV service, is now a "go-to" news channel in Iraq, one of the largest TV markets in the Middle East of more than 28 million population.

It may be peculiar to comment on one’s own blog. But, having just provided a post on possible directions for Obama’s international broadcasting and public diplomacy strategy, I realized I had missed the elephant (or donkey) in the room.