I just read the passionate depiction of our current state of affairs, written by Lee Iacocca and must admit that much of it rings true. I do believe that the underlying sentiment is shared by many Americans, hence the continuous call for "change" so many people respond to.
John McCain, when President, will to my opinion not only be sensitive to "Change". but quite actually able to execute and implement it
Yes - America wants a curious leader, willing to examine out of the box approaches to Education, Immigration and much so with regard to our devastating dependency on foreign oil. America wishes to unleish its power of innovation again without the handcuffs of liability laws, frivolous lawsuits and unfair trade practises.
John McCain, when President, will to my opinion not only be sensitive to "Change". but quite actually able to execute and implement it
Yes - America wants a curious leader, willing to examine out of the box approaches to Education, Immigration and much so with regard to our devastating dependency on foreign oil. America wishes to unleish its power of innovation again without the handcuffs of liability laws, frivolous lawsuits and unfair trade practises.
You may want to learn to know the character of John McCain - a simple introdcution to the man - the kind of man he had to be to survive torture without breaking. After that you will understand, why I call him a hero and why I believe him to be the kind of leader we need now.
let's tell them all we've had enough:
(Lee Iacocca)
Had Enough? Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course." Stay the course? You've got to be kidding.
This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out! You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies.Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it).
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
My friends tell me to calm down. They say, "Lee, you're eighty-two years old. Leave the rage to the young people." I'd love to, as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention. I'm going to speak up because it's my patriotic duty. I think people will listen to me. They say I have a reputation as a straight shooter. So I'll tell you how I see it, and it's not pretty, but at least it's real. I'm hoping to strike a nerve in those young folks who say they don't vote because they don't trust politicians to represent their interests.
Hey, America, wake up. These guys work for us. Who Are These Guys, Anyway? Why are we in this mess? How did we end up with this crowd in Washington? Well, we voted for them, or at least some of us did. But I'll tell you what we didn't do.
We didn't agree to suspend the Constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy. And don't tell me it's all the fault of right-wing Republicans or liberal Democrats. That's an intellectually lazy argument, and it's part of the reason we're in this stew. We're not just a nation of factions. We're a people. We share common principles and ideals. And we rise and fall together.Where are the voices of leaders who can inspire us to action and make us stand taller? What happened to the strong and resolute party of Lincoln? What happened to the courageous, populist party of FDR and Truman? There was a time in this country when the voices of great leaders lifted us up and made us want to do better. Where have all the leaders gone?
The Test of a LeaderI've never been Commander in Chief, but I've been a CEO. I understand a few things about leadership at the top. I've figured out nine points, not ten (I don't want people accusing me of thinking I'm Moses). I call them the "Nine Cs of Leadership." They're not fancy or complicated. Just clear, obvious qualities that every true leader should have. We should look at how the current administration stacks up. Like it or not, this crew is going to be around until January 2009. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the polls in 2008. Then let's be sure we use the leadership test to screen the candidates who say they want to run the country. It's up to us to choose wisely.
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir" crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place. George W. Bush brags about never reading a newspaper. "I just scan the headlines," he says. Am I hearing this right? He's the President of the United States and he never reads a newspaper? Thomas Jefferson once said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter." Bush disagrees. As long as he gets his daily hour in the gym, with Fox News piped through the sound system, he's ready to go.If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care. Before the 2006 election, George Bush made a big point of saying he didn't listen to the polls. Yeah, that's what they all say when the polls stink. But maybe he should have listened, because 70 percent of the people were saying he was on the wrong track. It took a "thumping" on election day to wake him up, but even then you got the feeling he wasn't listening so much as he was calculating how to do a better job of convincing everyone he was right.
A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box. George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbingly messianic fervor to his certainty. Senator Joe Biden recalled a conversation he had with Bush a few months after our troops marched into Baghdad. Joe was in the Oval Office outlining his concerns to the President, the explosive mix of Shiite and Sunni, the disbanded Iraqi army, the problems securing the oil fields. "The President was serene," Joe recalled. "He told me he was sure that we were on the right course and that all would be well. 'Mr. President,' I finally said, 'how can you be so sure when you don't yet know all the facts?'" Bush then reached over and put a steadying hand on Joe's shoulder. "My instincts," he said. "My instincts." Joe was flabbergasted. He told Bush,"Mr. President, your instincts aren't good enough." Joe Biden sure didn't think the matter was settled. And, as we all know now, it wasn't. Leadership is all about managing change, whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt. Maybe Bush was absent the day they covered that at Harvard Business School.
A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth. Nobody in the current administration seems to know how to talk straight anymore. Instead, they spend most of their time trying to convince us that things are not really as bad as they seem. I don't know if it's denial or dishonesty, but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful. The war in Iraq has been, among other things, a grand failure of communication. Bush is like the boy who didn't cry wolf when the wolf was at the door. After years of being told that all is well, even as the casualties and chaos mount, we've stopped listening to him.
leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power." George Bush has a lot of power. What does it say about his character? Bush has shown a willingness to take bold action on the world stage because he has the power, but he shows little regard for the grievous consequences. He has sent our troops (not to mention hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens) to their deaths. For what? To build our oil reserves? To avenge his daddy because Saddam Hussein once tried to have him killed? To show his daddy he's tougher? The motivations behind the war in Iraq are questionable, and the execution of the war has been a disaster. A man of character does not ask a single soldier to die for a failed policy.
Character isn't morphing into anything the electorate wishes to see.....
A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION, a fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President, four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake. It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That's eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a G-8 Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she was going to go right through the roof.
A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA President. Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA President, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie used to tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of horseshit from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it." George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know, Mr.they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behin d-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush. Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world, and I like it here." I think our current President should visit the real world once in a while.
The Biggest C is Crisis Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day, and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero. That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq, a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you,I don't know what will.A Hell of a Mess.So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened. Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name?
A leader must have COURAGE. I'm talking about balls. (That even goes for female leaders.) Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. George Bush comes from a blue-blooded Connecticut family, but he likes to talk like a cowboy. You know, My gun is bigger than your gun. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.If you're a politician, courage means taking a position even when you know it will cost you votes. Bush can't even make a public appearance unless the audience has been handpicked and sanitized. He did a series of so-called town hall meetings last year, in auditoriums packed with his most devoted fans. The questions were all softballs.
To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION, a fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done. How do you measure fire in the belly? Bush has set the all-time record for number of vacation days taken by a U.S. President, four hundred and counting. He'd rather clear brush on his ranch than immerse himself in the business of governing. He even told an interviewer that the high point of his presidency so far was catching a seven-and-a-half-pound perch in his hand-stocked lake. It's no better on Capitol Hill. Congress was in session only ninety-seven days in 2006. That's eleven days less than the record set in 1948, when President Harry Truman coined the term do-nothing Congress. Most people would expect to be fired if they worked so little and had nothing to show for it. But Congress managed to find the time to vote itself a raise. Now, that's not leadership.
A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him. That's my definition of charisma. Maybe George Bush is a great guy to hang out with at a barbecue or a ball game. But put him at a global summit where the future of our planet is at stake, and he doesn't look very presidential. Those frat-boy pranks and the kidding around he enjoys so much don't go over that well with world leaders. Just ask German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who received an unwelcome shoulder massage from our President at a G-8 Summit. When he came up behind her and started squeezing, I thought she was going to go right through the roof.
A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing. Bush brags about being our first MBA President. Does that make him competent? Well, let's see. Thanks to our first MBA President, we've got the largest deficit in history, Social Security is on life support, and we've run up a half-a-trillion-dollar price tag (so far) in Iraq. And that's just for starters. A leader has to be a problem solver, and the biggest problems we face as a nation seem to be on the back burner.
You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE. I call this Charlie Beacham's rule. When I was a young guy just starting out in the car business, one of my first jobs was as Ford's zone manager in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. My boss was a guy named Charlie Beacham, who was the East Coast regional manager. Charlie was a big Southerner, with a warm drawl, a huge smile, and a core of steel. Charlie used to tell me, "Remember, Lee, the only thing you've got going for you as a human being is your ability to reason and your common sense. If you don't know a dip of horseshit from a dip of vanilla ice cream, you'll never make it." George Bush doesn't have common sense. He just has a lot of sound bites. You know, Mr.they'll-welcome-us-as-liberators-no-child-left-behin d-heck-of-a-job-Brownie-mission-accomplished Bush. Former President Bill Clinton once said, "I grew up in an alcoholic home. I spent half my childhood trying to get into the reality-based world, and I like it here." I think our current President should visit the real world once in a while.
The Biggest C is Crisis Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day, and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero. That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq, a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you,I don't know what will.A Hell of a Mess.So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way.
These are times that cry out for leadership.But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened. Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name?
Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change? Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this: You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book.
It's a call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horseshit and go to work.
Let's tell 'em all we've had enough
I personally admire Iacocca's 9 C dogma and fully agree that a great leader must have all these qualities.
While the above article certainly may come across as at times a bit harsh and unforgiving, no future president should underestimate the underlying sentiment. This'years massively increased voter interest is not only based upon Obama's charisma or the republican's dislike for Clinton, it is indeed based upon a deeply rooted desire for change. Obama's success so far is widely based upon his promise for change. While more and more people lose faith in his ability to deliver on this promise, the fact remains that John McCain will be called upon to implement change in many areas too.
John McCain to my opinion has all of the 9 Cs. Especially, if one reads the definition of Charisma Iacocca offers. John may not be flashy, but certainly deserves and commands trust.
IN this thread though, I would love to discuss, if you can see yourself and America in the state of affairs, as depicted by Lee Iacocca. I would love to hear and debate the specifics of that change we all desire.
Most of all:
God Bless America
Posts
5 comments:
What is McCain's religious affiliation? Why did he vote against the MLK holiday in Arizona? If he truly does want to represent ALL views of Americans, what has he done for minorities- Latinos, African-Americans, Asian-Americans?
I believe he is an American hero earning the purple heart, but why does he want to continue the war in Iraq with so many soldiers dying--almost in vain? Just questions...
Friend, thanks very much for your comments and questions.
I can not say that I am the owner of the ultimate truth and can not answer all questions.
As far as I know, John is an average Christian as I am. I know that nowadays, all politicians have to touot their religion and kiss babies in churches and have video of themselves, attending church. In a country, where separation of church and state has led to such checks and balances, it seems to me almost a bit ironical - after all, most wars and atrocities have been commited historically in the name of a religion or belief system. I therefore in asnwer to your first question do appreciate, that he does not make a huge deal out of his religion or affiliation.
I do not know, why precisely he did vote against the MLK Holiday at the time and will research it. It may have had very simple pragmatic reasons - surely no racist undertones. What however impresses most people in today's realmof politicians never taking responsibility or even going as far as admitting a mistake is, that he alone in the bunch of candidates, once again stood before the American people and humbly admitted that his vote was wrong and that he regretted it. How refreshing!!!! Such candor, as manifested in Iowa (where it cost him the primary) or with regard to the Bush Tax Cuts, which he initially opposed, or with regard to Immigration, where he changed his opinion due to our general viewpoint (secure borders first and foremost) and admitted publicly so, such candor is unique, refreshing, humble and calls for respect. Humility and the ability to listen are true qualities of leaders. Has nothing to do with flip flopping, but is an honest effort to get feedback from the people and act accordingly, if it makes sense. Most astounding in Jhn's case, since he so often is called by his adversaries stubborn, stiff if not outright a bone head.
As an exec myself, I learned it the hard way that a good portion of humility and the ability to listen is much more respected by my teams than arrogance and leadership by autocracy.
I always, to give you another example, looked at Arnold Schwarzenegger here in California with a bit of sarcasm.... (only in America can a "terminator" be
elected to Governor. Then came a time, when Arnold wanted to push legislation through and got slapped by the populus. With a lot of anticipation I awaited his reaction and was blown away, when he publicly came out and not only admitted defeat, but actually apologized for his mistake to bulldoze the initiative through without properly examining the opinion of us Californians first. He did not make any excuses, but looked only to himself for blame. That was the moment he won me over.
The same applies to John McCain. In a career spanning many decades, you will every once so often make mistakes. We all do. The key is to accept responsibility, adapt your opinion and fix it, so it does not happen again. Do no lie, deflect or wiggle out from under the mistake but address it straight forward. With John, you get exactly that kind of attitude. That results in trust and the perception of true leadership.
Look at Obama for instance - have you seen this kind of humility or acceptance of responsibility? Has he admitted any mistake or lack of judgment at least, with regard to Reverend Wright? No. Not once.
He wiggled himself out by giving us a lofty lecture abot the obvious, but in the same speech refrained from accepting any fault or disowning an outright nazi. he went as far as to use racial sterotyping by calling his own grandmother a typical white person......while being the one senator calling for the firing of that racist white talk show host, he continues to call this Reverend a friend........that is bigotery, hippocrisy and stands in stark contrast to the humility and honesty of John McCain.
As far as the Iraq war is concerned, the topic warrants an individual reply.
To your question about the Iraq war.
First, allow me to move the topic of engaging in this war rightfully or not aside. I know that many believe that it was wrong to invade. Others like me believe that it was the right thing to do, even if we were given the wrong reasons to do so.
In a nutshell, i Bush would have had the courage to allow the American People to decide for themselves to remove one of the worst dictators and murderers in recent history due to the instability the man caused in a region of utmost strategic importance for us (half of our oil imports fueling our entire economy is still procured from this region after all), I would dare to venture that a majority of Americans would have supported the invasion nevertheless. I believe in the wisdom of our people to see the importance of the invasion, even if there were no WDMs at the time.
So - in my mind - we did the right thing for the wrong given reasons.
Having said that - we are there now and must deal with the situation day forward, as it is moot to continue debating the past.
Looking day forward, this is not about continuing a costly war or not. It is about finishing what had been started. It is about the consequences of a hasty widthdrawal or "winning" by establishing a solid, stable democracy and gaining stability in a region of critical importance with hard hitting impact on your own wallet and prosperity.
Inasmuch, as 4000 dead soldiers is deplorable, it must be stated, that in comparison to any war so far, the losses were marginal. Vietnam with 100000, WWII, Korea cost so many more lives. In that regard, defeating a highly trained and well equipped army of 1Million soldiers was one amazing military achievement. My respect to the US forces leadership and valor in the arena.
Now - if you put yourself into the shoes of the next US president, having to look at the consequences of a complete widthdrawal within a year as proposed by Obama and Clinton or the alternative of honoring the dead and finishing what had been started, I invite you to examine the consequences for yourself:
If we leave pre-maturely, what will happen:
- Iraq will degenerate into a civilo war state between Shia and Sunni.
- Iran ( with open expansive ambitions) will supply the Shia and nurture the conflict in order to create another fundamentalist Islamic Satellite
- The resulting instability will drive the Oil prices to unheard levels with grave consequences on our own econmy. If we are talking recession now - this will be a full out depression in America and the entire Western World.
- Iran and Islamic Fundamentalists from Al Khaedca to Hamas will be enabled exploit the withdrawal with massive propaganda and due to this "victory" will win thousands of new recruits. willing to wage war and blow themselves up- up to and not limited to such soft target attacks in the US or Europe.
- Russia, a country with very distinct reactionary tendencies towards the former glory of the Soviets will move into the region (politically and exercising influence)
- China, oil thirsty as never before with its emerging and overboiling economy will and must do the same to secure increasing oil needs.
- Lacking a calming security presence of the US ( such as successfully done in Germany or Korea by means of military bases and border control over decades now) the entire already instable region may well erode further into local conflicts and tribal or religious factions wars.
- Iran is in the process of developing Nuclear armament and delivery systems. Fact. Iran still denies Israel's right of existence. Israel may well be drwan into the strategic need of a pre-emptive strike, as they can not allow Iran to have nuclear bombs. A US presence in Iraq and a stable Iraq (along the line of Jordan to give an example) would act as a buffer zone and will prevent Iran from going forward as we did with the Sovjets in Europe.
- As long as we still are forced to import a massive percentage of our foreign oil from this region,
(even, if John McCain hopefully initiates a kind of Apollo program to become independent from foreign oil, such a program will take 10-20 years for us to become fully self-sufficient), it is in our direct National Security and Economical interest to make sure that this supply is secured and the region is peaceful or at least stable as during the cold war as a minimum.
- Lastly - see my post under National security and the cost of the Iraq war - if we bring this situation to a conclusion along the ideas of John McCain, we may even end up with a "return on investment" and recoup at least some of the funds by securing a stable oil supplyout of Iraq. That may not be politically correct to say, but the Iraqui owe us and can repay us for this huge effort by giving us preferred customer terms for the next 15 years.
- Another aspect of a hasty withdrawal would be that the sacrifice of our soldiers and our Iraqui allies would have been in vain - a true injustice we would do to them. They would come home asking themselves, for what their comrades did die. No result, no win, a futile effort.
- Lastly, please do not believe what the media tells you about IRAQ. Only bombs and attacks make for good news. The great development, constructions and widely appreciated improved safety of the Iraqui people is oftentimes not even mentioned.
According to a recent poll in IRAQ, a majority of their own people actually voted for the US to remain there.
In conclusion, currently a majority of US citizen is for leaving IRAQ as soon as possible.
In that regard, John McCain, if he was just another politician like Obama or Clinton looking at nothing but Polls and votes, should join into the chorus of the anti war people. But he stands firm on this issue, as he alone amongst the three understands the frame conditions, as outlined for you above. He knows, that we must finish the job, then have at least a bases presence there ( even if that lasts for decades), as the alternative would be devastating for us as a nation, for our economy and for our national security.
Many Americans do not logically think this through, but from a purely emotional viewpoint want to extricate us from this situation. And Clinton and Obama jump on this bandwagon....
But - if you really contemplate the pragmatic consequences and our geostrategic situation, you can not come to any other conclusion as the one, John McCain promotes.
Was I able to help you see the logic?
It isn't about war mongering, but simply follow through and do the right thing with the future in mind, not just the present emotional mind set of the American people.
Why Did John McCain vote against a holiday inhonor of Martin Luther King?
I researched the thing a bit and found that it was as assumed a pragmatic decision. He voted against it, as any (paid) holiday has significant economical impact.
In light of the fact that people of the same calibre as Dr. King, such as Washington, Jefferson or FDH and Lincoln have to share one holiday and do not get their own, even, if that certainly would be justified, due to their importance and accomplishments, the initial vote of John Mccain on a federal level must be seen as a pragmatic and certainly acceptable position.
I honestly do not know, how I myself would have voted in this case. I certainly would have had to think long and hard about it and would never have villified either of the positions to this question.
For John to go ahead now and admit a mistake ( which he lateron evidently in the local legislature corrected way before the run for President in fact) is to my opinion immensly big of him, as both positions on the issue must be seen as acceptable opinions.
Since I assume that this holiday must be seen as acknowledgment of the accomplishment of a black leader ( as opposed to the aforementioned), hence meant to help heal old wounds and bring black and white together, John's change of opinion must be seen as a great example of understanding the healing process and respect for our black community over economical rationale.
So, in the end, his change of opinion or priorities (since his original position was certainly justified from a purely logical viewpoint) lends a great example and evidence towards John's motives and belief systems. He evidently understands the need for bridging the gap between whites and blacks and will try to unify this divided country - and he evidently is not as stubborn as often portraied, otherwise he would not have changed his position on the MLK Holiday. Let us furthermore not forget, that he was in no way forced (elections etc.) at the time to change his view.....
So, in conclusion, once again the man goes way out of his way to do the right thing, even, if nobody at the time looked.
What has he done for minorities?
One thing I do know is that on immigration he promotes a position which must be seen as almost democratic - in stark contrast to large segments of his own party.
His senatorial votiing record reflects a very moderate and almost centrist vision, which lead sme to believe that he is not an isolationist or right winger, but sees Immigration and our own minorities as pillars of our society.
His voting record and image of a maverick going oftentimes with Democrats of creating initiatives together with moderate democrats and republicans further lends evidence to his ability of creating majorities across the aisle and party divisions. As opposed to Clinton and Obama, who lacks any record soever, Mccain has a solid track record of unifying rather than dividing.
Obama with his support for his divisive preacher and congregation (in lack of any other evidence either way) has to my opinion given us as a minimum circumstantial evidence to holding a polarizing and not unifying position. He runs on hope and change and the slogan of unifying the country, yet in fact with his support of very backwards oriented, radical and divisive views voiced by his church and preachers (as presented here in this blog to the max with cold hard facts) in reality polarizes the country even further......
Ask yourself, what has Obama or Clinton have in fact done for minorities or towards unification of a divided people and parties, and you will be hard-pressed to find a better track record than John McCain's.
Lastly, before anyone mentions the lofty health care plans as presented by Obama or Clinton I pre-empt the argument by simply stating that they are nothing than naive illusions and vote soliciting, since simply not feasible in terms of financing them.....European countries having that kind of system over decades had since to abandon those....but then again, that would leave Clinton and Obama with nothing to really stand out n the eyes of the Americans....so once again they end up making these huge, empty promises, instead of learning from the harsh experiences other countries made already and come up with pragmatic, intelligent ideas... But that would not be sexy, right?
One a side note here - Once again, Mccain offered (unpopular) candor, as instead of bailing out our unreasonable homeowners, he pointed out the the recent real estate crisis is to not a small extent based upon their own fault and irresponsibility.....
But telling the truth is a tough pill to swallow.
I hope America is ready to look at our government not just as a safety net, but looks inwards too and accepts responsibility. With John we will get a president, who will not only help us to some extent, but a man who will also call on our sense of responsibility and accountability - a man who will keep us honest.
Throwing money at a fundamental problem caused in part by ourselves, engaging in these ridiculous no money down, variable interest loans and resulting 5-10k mortgage payments which nobody can afford - then call for help by the government, is in itself irresponsible (while of course popular and earning votes...).
I'd rather have a Pres who does not shy away from telling me the truth, even if that hurts.
Remember the slogan " do not ask what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for the country?" That man would nowadays never be elected, even though it is truer than ever. To some extent, acknowledging the hard facts we all are faced with, John does call upon us to serve with him and I myself do fully agree with him that we all must do our part..
Post a Comment