October 21, 2012
We need more than a storyteller
On a TV news show recently, Charlie
Rose asked Barack Obama if he could share any mistakes he had made in
his presidency. His answer: "When I think about what we've done
well and what we haven't done well, the mistake of my first term was
thinking this job was just about getting the policy right. That's
important, but the nature of this office is to also to tell a story
to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose
and optimism, especially during tough times."
Our president's answer to this
question struck me like an arrow in the heart because it demonstrates
how little he understands the American people and the depths of our
collective concerns for our nation's economy — let alone what needs
to be done to begin its healing.
I must confess that I remain
stunned and almost speechless every time I relive his words. Is he
kidding? Does he really not understand that the American people don't
want or need an inspiring storyteller to lead our nation? We don't
even need to like the person.
What most Americans understand from
what they see and experience every day is a nation in deep economic
trouble. Americans know their family's futures have never been more
threatened. What most Americans crave and desperately need is a
leader who is practical and pragmatic and who has a proven track
record of private-sector experiences, a proven understanding of
capitalism and the skills and wisdom to actually collaborate with the
opposite party to find the best solutions for all Americans. What
America really needs is effective leadership, not better stories.
When Mr. Obama was elected, I was
wary of him being qualified to lead our nation during these difficult
times. He simply had no practical work experience of any kind to
prepare him to effectively deal with the huge economic challenges our
nation faces.
The main driver of our nation's
economy is a powerful symbiotic relationship between workers (jobs)
who provide the labor for businesses in exchange for wages, and then
use these earnings for purchases from businesses in order to
continuously provide the primary fuel for the economy. This is a
complicated interdependent relationship in which both businesses and
labor must be equally sustainable in order for the overall economy to
flourish for the maximum benefits of our citizenry.
Today, it seems clear we should
never have rationally trusted this complicated economy's leadership
to an amateur who had never held a job within, let alone led, a
single capitalist organization. He is smart, has a wonderful smile,
can do a good job of delivering a teleprompter speech, is a great
evangelical-style speaker on the stump, and is really great at
promising hope and change. Do these characteristics alone qualify
someone to lead the largest and most complex economy in the world,
especially when that economy has been growing steadily weaker over
the past 50 or 60 years?
Mr. Obama has been telling a story
with his words and actions. His story has been consistent throughout
his term — just blame others! Blame the Bush administration. Blame
the Republicans. Then blame the continuation of our problems on
global economic challenges faced by other countries. His only notable
actions, passing economic stimulus and health care reform laws, in
reality only assured those most rewarded were the same folks who were
allowed to write the legislation: the powerful special interests!
He has repeatedly shown he didn't
and doesn't have a clue about what actions to take. Unfortunately, he
has further enhanced his own deficits by surrounding himself with
czars and advisers who are much like him: perhaps great at social
theory but woefully short on practical experience.
Mr. Obama knows he has shared his
story with Americans. And, as the first debate on Oct. 3 painfully
demonstrated for him and his supporters, his results just can't be
spun enough to inspire us. Americans have enough common sense to know
that results are what count, and they simply have not been delivered.
If the best he has to offer is his
belief that he failed to come up with an inspirational story — and
we re-elect him — our nation is truly up the proverbial creek
without a paddle. Amateur hour simply hasn't worked, and it won't in
the future.
For those of you who will ask what
evidence we have that Mitt Romney is the right person, the short
answer is that we don't know for sure. However, we only have two
choices, and we do know President Obama's past actions and results
speak much more eloquently than any story he can deliver.
It seems to me that we have a lot
more to risk going forward if we don't give Mitt a chance. This must
not come down to what's best for Democrats or Republicans. What is
desperately needed is what's best for all Americans.
A good salesperson might need a
better story. True leaders don't worry about the story — they just
lead and allow the results to speak for themselves.
These are my opinions. What do you
think?
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