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Refers to everyday citizens as "the small people" while trying to name-drop Obama.

How does he keep doing it?!

You know you're in a bad place when the Onion starts borrowing your quotes practically verbatim, and the guy writing for a fake BP twitter account occasionally sounds like the real deal.

It's not really a name drop when you had just come out of a lengthy meeting with the man.

It is when the purpose of that specific statement is to try and create an image of solidarity with the American people by saying you agree with the President.

I give the guy a pass for the verbal gaff - English is not his native tongue.

Any Swedish speakers on the board we could ask?

If this was the only time, I would give him a pass, but the Chairman of a company like BP can hire a [STRIKE]PR Guy[/STRIKE] Director of Communications after the first 5 times. In fact, given BP's tanking stock, it's kind of his job to find someone who can convey the company message without making those kinds of mistakes every single time.

Dave said:

I give the guy a pass for the verbal gaff - English is not his native tongue.

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I don't, they should have someone out there running PR, not this guy. Especially if he keeps making PR nightmares like this happening.

If you are prone to gaffs perhaps it is a decent use of money to speak through someone.

It's like Kurtz!

Except Kurtz isn't worth billions and isn't responsible for destroying an entire unrelated industry.

Null said:

Except Kurtz isn't worth billions and isn't responsible for destroying an entire unrelated industry.

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That's what he wants you to think.

General Specific;400773][QUOTE=Dave said:

I give the guy a pass for the verbal gaff - English is not his native tongue.

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I don't, they should have someone out there running PR, not this guy. Especially if he keeps making PR nightmares like this happening.[/QUOTE]

You're right. They should have sent a PR rep to the White House to meet with the president and be stopped by the press afterwards today.

Null said:

Except Kurtz isn't worth billions and isn't responsible for destroying an entire unrelated industry.

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Didn't you hear? He killed newspapers.

I heard that on the way home from work today, it made my day.

Online comics killed the newspaper star?

Covar;400896][QUOTE=General Specific;400773][QUOTE=Dave said:

I give the guy a pass for the verbal gaff - English is not his native tongue.

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I don't, they should have someone out there running PR, not this guy. Especially if he keeps making PR nightmares like this happening.[/QUOTE]

You're right. They should have sent a PR rep to the White House to meet with the president and be stopped by the press afterwards today.[/QUOTE]

Oh my God! Someone makes sense!

This guy didn't sign up for a press conference. He met with the President, was press-ambushed and instead of blowing them off (which people here would like him to do as he is not a PR rep) he talked to them and made what WE SEE as a gaff. In reality, it was a direct translation of a Swedish phrase that in his native tongue would not have been bad at all.

As the New York Magazine says:

People Upset That Swedish BP Chairman Doesn’t Speak Perfect, Fluent English

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Obviously, by referring to the "small people," Svanberg meant to suggest that the struggling fishermen and shrimpers of the Gulf Coast are less important than wealthy Scandinavian board chairmen like himself. They are like mere ants, which he could crush at any moment if he so desires. It's a strange thing for the chairman of BP to say in the midst of this public-relations nightmare, for sure, but it is the only plausible interpretation, according to an msnbc.com poll, in which 50.7 percent of respondents found the comments "offensive." Just as long as you don't consider the context of the phrase, or the context of the person speaking, at all.

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And, of course, everything translates well from one language to another.

He should've known better, the oven is not for buns.

Denbrought said:

He should've known better, the oven is not for buns.

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Hehe

Funny if he had said little guy instead of small people would there still be complaints here? I'd imagine so.

Dave said:

This guy didn't sign up for a press conference. He met with the President, was press-ambushed and instead of blowing them off (which people here would like him to do as he is not a PR rep) he talked to them and made what WE SEE as a gaff. In reality, it was a direct translation of a Swedish phrase that in his native tongue would not have been bad at all.

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He's the head of a public, international company worth $200B with thousands of employees, and manages a CEO who regularly says even dumber things. The stock is tanking, and he has every single capability (and even the responsibility) of not opening his mouth without preparation. I'm sure he was prepared for talking to Obama.

But then we already know BP isn't that good at anticipating bad consequences.

And he apparently couldn't have taken a spokesperson along with him to intercept the media during the inevitable ambush. Sounds like a lack of planning, which is really the reason behind this whole debacle in the first place.