CEO who wrote anti-Obama email: Villain or hero?

Depends on whom you ask, and we asked some PR people what they thought of the email that warned employees of a possible layoff if Obama wins a second term.

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After warning his employees that a second Obama term could cost them their jobs, the CEO of Westgate Resorts in Florida has become something of a villain.

“What a d*ck,” a Gawker commenter said about Siegel. “Will someone please let me know when it’s time to storm the Bastille? I have my torch and pitchfork ready.”

Or maybe he’s not.

Others have rallied to his side. The conservative American Action Forum cast the email as a dire warning about the U.S. economy. Siegel has also been called a hero for his email.

So is this a PR disaster? Westgate Resorts is a privately held company, so the comments are not illegal.

The problem is the crisis of confidence for his employees, according to Hinda Mitchell, vice president at the PR agency CMA.

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