Blake, Obama — and Home Depot publicity

“We are going to generate so much business for you, Frank,” Obama said, while announcing the government’s plans to promote energy-saving home improvements during a speech at a Washington-area Home Depot store last Tuesday.

That was shortly after Obama queried Blake about the sex appeal of insulation: “Frank, don’t you think insulation is sexy stuff?”

Blake and Obama, in fact, have become relatively close in the past year. The Home Depot chief has met with the commander in chief several times. He also has had dinner with Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

It’s not exactly surprising that the CEO of the nation’s No. 4 retailer would have the ear of the president — except perhaps when you consider Blake’s political background.

A stalwart Republican, Blake served as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy under President George W. Bush.

During Ronald Reagan’s administration, he was general counsel to the Environmental Protection Agency. He also served as deputy counsel to then-Vice President George H.W. Bush.

Blake declined to comment for this story.

But Home Depot spokesman Brad Shaw was quick to point out that his boss’s appearances with the leader of the Democratic Party — Obama — had nothing to do with politics.

“This is not only not partisan, it’s not even political in any way in his [Blake’s] mind,” Shaw said. “This is about his views in his job running Home Depot.”

At the White House, spokeswoman Gannet Tseggai portrayed the relationship between Blake and Obama as just one more indication of the president’s attempts to be bipartisan when it comes to trying to solve the country’s problems.

The White House selected the Alexandria, Va., Home Depot for the backdrop for the president’s speech on energy retrofitting in part because it was close — only about eight miles away and still inside the Capital Beltway. And given Home Depot’s leadership in the home improvement market, it made sense, Shaw said.

“But I will say that we were enormously honored — not only to host the president but to get that kind of recognition,” Shaw added.

Howard Davidowitz, a New York retail consultant and analyst, said the notoriety and newfound coziness between Home Depot and the White House probably will help sales “a smidge” — if at all.

“It certainly is excellent publicity, but it’s not necessarily going to translate into a lot of new business on its own,” Davidowitz said.

But, he added, Home Depot now has a one-of-a-kind marketing opportunity to push energy-saving products if it chooses to do so.

Davidowitz said, “Here you have a unique hook,” with the president saying your products will save money.

Even if you’re a Home Depot customer who doesn’t like Obama, “he’s still the president,” Davidowitz said.

All the presidential attention showered on Home Depot hasn’t gone unnoticed at archrival Lowe’s.

“Certainly we were watching that story and reading about it in the paper,” Lowe’s spokeswoman Chris Ahearn said, “and we’ve been chatting with White House officials, too.”

Ahearn said Lowe’s CEO Robert Niblock also has been to the White House, to meet with “administration officials.”

And if not for the fact that a Home Depot was closer to the White House than a Lowe’s, she suggested, maybe her Mooresville, N.C.-based chain also could have been a contender for the president’s publicity last week.

Aware of the politics involved — the politics of business, at least — spokeswoman Tseggai pointed out that Obama has met with lots of corporate leaders, and that his plans will benefit Lowe’s as well as Home Depot.

“The president and his economic team have consulted with hundreds of business leaders, including the CEO of Home Depot, as we work together to help the economy recover,” she said in a statement.

“His plans for investing in retrofit technology will not only help create jobs and have a positive impact on the environment, but it will help businesses like Home Depot, Lowe’s and others continue to grow and thrive in a new innovation economy.”