Communication.

In yesterday's "New York Times" Nicolas Kristof wrote an op-ed pieve called "Obama's First-Term Report Card." All the grades Kristof gave the President were in the "B" to "A" range.

Except for one.

One of President's grades was an "F." Failure.

And that was on "Communication."

This post is not about whether or not I agree with Kristof.

Or what I think or he thinks of the job the President is doing.

I'm not afraid to discuss politics here.

They're just not my point today.

My point today is on something simpler.

The necessity for brands and people to tell their story.

With warmth, honesty, passion and emotion.

To "sell" who they are and the reason for their actions and behaviors.

There are all sorts and manner of egg-headed blowhards who have constructed a line of blather that we live in a post-messaging age.

That no one believes.

That no one hears.

That no one cares.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

We in the communications industry have taken our eyes off the ball.

In our relentless and reckless pursuit of technology we have forgotten humanity.

We have forgotten that people need leaders. They need to be told. They need to have their world defined. Clarified. Simplified.

By politicians.

By brands.