Blog about Leadership

What a monumental week! I don’t think it really matters which political party you belong to or which political ideologies you lean toward, this past week was a monumental week and a huge victory for the American political system. Unless they live under rock, everyone in the world now knows that our President-elect is Barack Obama, the first black man to win the Presidency.

My first thought is that this date will be representing another paradigm shift in the world, not just the US. Perhaps this is influenced by my recently having read Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat and his list of “10 historic dates that made the world flat.” At any rate, it is exciting to see history in the making and participating with an entire nation who is excited about politics which is usually disdained and ignored. There is renewed interest, excitement, and confidence in the future of the United States.

I want to share with you a quote from President-elect Barack Obama about the United States. Back in March when he was attacked for his association with the controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright, he gave a speech to the National Constitution Center during the Democratic Primary.

In his speech, he said:
“This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected.”

This reflects almost exactly a fundamental belief of mine. We do not live in a perfect world. We do live in a functional society. The goals of a functional society are to strive to implement the attributes of a perfect world.

This week has been one more step closer for all Americans and, hopefully, “a giant leap for mankind.”

***Update - November 19, 2008***

I want to leave this article up for a while, so we can appreciate this moment in time and focus on some of the excitement, hopeful possibilities, and positive visions for America. This is important in my view with most of the news flooding with pessimistic and disheartening information about the economy. So for now, I am merely adding to this article.

Perfection is an important discussion point. What one person considers to be perfection another may view as imperfection with one slant or another. This is particularly true in the interaction of people whether in relationships, organizations, or the broader category of society. For this very reason, any union, whether the United States as Barack Obama was discussing or any other country, can never truly achieve perfection.

We seek then for betterment as agreed by a majority without discrimination of the minority. This betterment is what Barack Obama referred to as “perfected” or what I refer to as implementing attributes of a perfect world. This is not individual goals as much as it is processes - continuous improvement -  in which some goals may play a role.

One fundamental requirement is openness and dialog on matters of society whether economic or political. My grandfather use to tell me that there are three things you never discuss at the dinner table – politics, money, and sex. While it may be fine to have a time and place for these discussions while not at a dinner table, too many families abstain from these topics all together.

The excitement of the last year with this monumental Presidential election has helped to elevate the level of dialog in matter of politics. Too often, this increased level of dialog was negative or counter-productive as too often the dialog was a matter of two conversations – the election is lasting too long (it just kept going and going…) or the discussion was highly divisive (either within the Democrat Party between supports of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton or between the broad electorate between supports of Barack Obama and John McCain).

What is necessary to continue “perfecting” this union, is to elevate the dialog and have honest, open, respectful, and intelligent conversations about the issues this nation’s faces.

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John McCain and Barack Obama are definitely members of different generations. John McCain is 72 years old with his birth date of August 29, 1936. Barack Obama is 47 years old with his birth date of August 4, 1961. With a quarter century difference between, they have one thing in common – they both are the current best of their generations.

With John McCain it is obvious; he has a lifetime of service to causes greater than himself and service to the United States as both a pilot in the Navy who sacrificed greatly as a prisoner of war and a legislator who rose above the corruption of Washington to be one of the very few who never took any earmarks, putting the nation above his own ambition, and setting aside politics to reach across the aisle on issues that have a significant impact on the betterment of the US.

In Barack Obama’s case, the future may still bring from this generation other rising stars and people of greatness, but at this moment in time, he is the best of his generation. He grasped the opportunities in this country, studied hard, and today is recognized as a brilliant political mind with a meteoric ability to influence and inspire. He has earned a high commendation; I’m just not entirely certain he has earned a place as leader of the Democratic Party and one of two candidates for Presidency.

Friday night’s first 2008 Presidential debate presented the choice before the American people and the choice is not overwhelming or decisive. Either candidate will be a great leader, which is bordering on irony for the stark difference between them. I have my opinion on who is a great leader for America, but I want to explore for a minute what it takes to participate in a Presidential debate.

What it takes to participate in a Presidential debate:

1) Good health for physical and mental endurance

Both of these candidates have been campaigning for nearly two years. Each day of a Presidential campaign is long with significant travel time, preparation, discussions, interviews, speeches, and town hall meetings. Candidates have to be in very good health for the mental and physical endurance required for the campaign trail.

2) Quick mind to be able to think on one’s feet

Presidential candidates need to be able to think on their feet. The debate platform does not provide for the opportunity to contemplate, research, and formulate one’s response. Pauses and slow responses give the perception of indecisiveness and/or the perception of incompetence to handle the issues.

For example: on Friday night, Jim Lehrer started the debate with a quote from, then, General Dwight Eisenhower from his campaign for President in 1952, “We must achieve both security and solvency; in fact the foundation of military strength is economic strength.”* John McCain was able to quickly think on his feet and responded with his story of the two letters Gen. Eisenhower wrote on the eve of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, with his response about need for a return to a sense of accountability.

3) Broad general knowledge

Broad general knowledge provides the relevant information that is necessary to be presented with ideas and be able to understand what the idea implies and how it relates to other ideas. Broad general knowledge is what is required to formulate one’s opinion without bigotry and hypocrisy. The absence of broad general knowledge breeds ignorance, bigotry, and dissonance.

4) Clear understanding of topics in debate

For this, I’ll merely rely upon a quote: “Whatever we conceive well we express clearly, and words flow with ease. ~Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux in L’ Art Poetique (translated from French) You can draw your own logical conclusion of what happens otherwise.

 *On a side note, for a good book on the topic of economics and military strength, read Paul Kennedy’s The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict From 1500 to 2000. I read this book when I was a soldier on a training exercise in 2004 and Paul Kennedy provided a lot of thought for me about our current eco-militant situation.

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In Wisconsin

Today is the State of Wisconsin Primary and for the first time in a long while I am at home instead of voting by absentee ballot. There are very few leadership positions as important as the Presidency of the United States, so I have been giving a lot of contemplation as to who I feel is the best leader for the next four-to-eight years.

John McCain

Back in 2000, I was a supporter for John McCain, a highly respectable patriot, knowledgeable and experienced candidate, and someone who is able to make better decisions than most. This year, he is the presumptive nominee with a clear and decisive lead of delegates for the Republican Party nomination.

With the DNC

This year, I am contemplating casting my vote in the Democratic Party. In Wisconsin, voters are allowed to register at the voting booth and select party affiliation at that time. By the way, the open primary registration of Wisconsin works to the advantage of Senators Obama and McCain who both do very well among independent voters.

Hillary Clinton

I honestly do not believe Senator Clinton to be the best choice. She is way too divisive for a leader. I think there would be more problems between the executive and legislative branches of government if she was elected. Do not misunderstand, I think she is very intelligent and capable as a politician, but I do not think she is who this country needs at this time.

Barack Obama

Senator Obama is, in my opinion, a highly influential leader. His oratorical abilities and celebrity status, allow him a great deal latitude from which to lead. I do not agree with every position that he takes, but I don’t 100% agree with every position that any of the candidates take. I do think that America needs an influential leader – someone who can inspire, influence, and provoke positive action.

Party Politics

As you can probably discern from this blog entry, I do not allow myself to be limited by political parties. I think it was George Washington, in his farewell address who warned against political parties and history has proven him to be accurate and wise. Great many problems have risen from party politics. Too many issues become a matter of competition to win than a decision to make for the best interest of the nation. The only good is the default mode of restraint in passing new legislation.

Jeffersonian Principle of Government

The Jeffersonian Principle of Government from our third President, Thomas Jefferson, is that government that governs best is that government that governs least. The division caused by a dual party system does keep the legislature in check, but too often distracts from issues that truly matter. There are thousands of young men and women who are dying in this nation’s wars in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and against terrorism. Too many people are struggling paycheck-to-paycheck in our economy, while fat-cat executives are given huge severance packages when they fail in their jobs. These two issues – war and economy – are the top two issues for me and most significant problems facing our nation at this time.

Casting my Vote to Make a Difference

So, today, I am going to cast my vote to play my role and be responsible for the governing of this nation. Freedom, of course, is not free. It comes with the high cost of responsibility. If we want to maintain a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” then we need to be responsible to fulfill our obligations by participating in the political process.

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