I know that and you know that but it still does not mean we should all roll up the carpet and shut out the lights. One of the toughest things to not do in a down economy is be too careful or too scared. Right now I see too much of both.

I talk to others in our business and they say the same thing: our clients complain that nothing works but they won’t change what they’re doing either! What is wrong with this picture? This is the time that agencies and clients should be trying new things not spending time being afraid to be different.

The old adage is that you cannot spend yourself out of a down economy. Okay I get that. But who says we should be afraid of changing our marketing approach? Who says we can’t look at some new ideas? What’s the worst that could happen? It might work!

Those of us on the agency side have to do the same thing. We have to retire our fears and suggest new ideas. If the old stuff we suggested is not working, why keep doing it? This industry is not an exact science, nor do I walk on water. (I got wet the last time I tried.)

If we agencies want to keep our clients we must be unafraid. We must tell them it’s time to change what they have been doing. Look at it this way…more of the same isn’t going to get there anywhere. They don’t need us to keep doing what they were doing before us!

Change or perish–that is my new mantra…now, if I can get all my staff and clients to see the light, then maybe I’ll try that walking on water thing again.

Sit down, it’s a joke! Those who know me best must be thinking, “Seriously, Al in Vermont! Did Hell freeze over?” Yah, I don’t think so and this week displayed yet another reason why we should trade Vermont to Canada–or perhaps even more suitable, a Middle Eastern Islamic “Republic” (sic). The City of Burlington, VT is in crisis; they cannot decide if they want the cable network Al Jazeera English on their system.

Want the details? Burlington was the first of only three markets that have agreed to carry the offshoot of the controversial international Arab news network. The other two markets, by the way, are Washington D.C. (of course, no surprise there, it’s probably how our government gets its intelligence) and Toledo, Ohio. What the hell were THEY thinking?

After several weeks, the Burlington Telecom system (which is city owned and reaches less than 3,000 subscribers) decided to drop the channel. Holy crap, Champy has come out of the water! The Mayor demanded the people have their say. Two separate forums concluded overwhelmingly that the station should go away.

One can only hope that common sense will prevail in the Socialist State of Vermont…but don’t count on it. Remember, this is a state that has a self-described Socialist as a United States Senator.

So the Fat Lady sang and Hillary heard the music. I can’t say I’m surprised, in fact I won a bet from a well-known political person who joined the Hillary bandwagon early on. I have said for over a year that this country has “Clinton Fatigue” and that her husband would lose her the race not help her win it.

Barak is a great choice for the Democratic Party for several reasons: he’s telegenic, a brilliant orator and can claim he’s not part of the Washington crowd. All valid points, but I believe none of those reasons will help him win.

Why? Because as the economy stagnates, oil escalates and the war in Iraq drags on, Americans are going to want experience at the helm not inexperience. It is a great campaign tactic to talk about being an outsider, but this country is famous for electing the insider. The last real outsider was Jimmy Carter–how’d that work out?

You heard it here first, Barak Obama will not be the next president of the United Sates it will be John McCain.