How Your Candidates Handle Crises
Last week's troubles on Wall Street represent the first true crisis for Barack Obama and John McCain as presidential candidates. Their reactions are telling.
Barack Obama, showing the calm and confidence of a true leader, assured us that it was not a time to panic. He knew we were in trouble and supported assistance to stop the bleeding, but refused to make rash decisions. That is the presence of mind we want in a leader.
John McCain has flip-flopped on the economy for a while now. Not so long ago, he boldly claimed the economy was strong. Last week, a career deregulator supported regulation. He accused Obama of getting advice from those who caused the failed economy. Aside from lying, he was hiding the truth -- that the very deregulating policy he has supported led to last week's trouble. John McCain looked like anything but a leader.
This flies in the face of one of the biggest arguments for McCain. He is, unquestionably, the more experienced candidate. So why did he behave so poorly in crisis while the less experienced Obama handle it like a leader?
It's simple: Barack Obama is a leader and John McCain is not.
Barack Obama carries with him all the characteristics of great leadership. He is charismatic. He is intelligent. He is calm. He gives his followers real hope. These are qualities shared by our better presidents, be it Andrew Jackson, Theodore or Franklin Roosevelt, or Ronald Reagan. Experience doesn't necessarily make you a leader. It is a quality you must possess before experience.
And what of John McCain's extensive experience? No doubt he is everything advertised -- a war hero, a devoted public servant, etc. But scratch the surface a bit. He was a military man. His career in the military consisted of following orders. As a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he was forced to follow orders under extreme conditions. He went on to a respectable career in legislature. Senators by nature follow the pack -- the pack being their party's platform. So, again, John McCain has experience following.
Remember, nothing here is not admirable. John McCain is a good man. No, he's a great man. But he is not equipped to be a great leader. His decisions as a presidential candidate have only reinforced that truth.
It's perhaps the biggest reason Barack Obama must be our next president.
Barack Obama, showing the calm and confidence of a true leader, assured us that it was not a time to panic. He knew we were in trouble and supported assistance to stop the bleeding, but refused to make rash decisions. That is the presence of mind we want in a leader.
John McCain has flip-flopped on the economy for a while now. Not so long ago, he boldly claimed the economy was strong. Last week, a career deregulator supported regulation. He accused Obama of getting advice from those who caused the failed economy. Aside from lying, he was hiding the truth -- that the very deregulating policy he has supported led to last week's trouble. John McCain looked like anything but a leader.
This flies in the face of one of the biggest arguments for McCain. He is, unquestionably, the more experienced candidate. So why did he behave so poorly in crisis while the less experienced Obama handle it like a leader?
It's simple: Barack Obama is a leader and John McCain is not.
Barack Obama carries with him all the characteristics of great leadership. He is charismatic. He is intelligent. He is calm. He gives his followers real hope. These are qualities shared by our better presidents, be it Andrew Jackson, Theodore or Franklin Roosevelt, or Ronald Reagan. Experience doesn't necessarily make you a leader. It is a quality you must possess before experience.
And what of John McCain's extensive experience? No doubt he is everything advertised -- a war hero, a devoted public servant, etc. But scratch the surface a bit. He was a military man. His career in the military consisted of following orders. As a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he was forced to follow orders under extreme conditions. He went on to a respectable career in legislature. Senators by nature follow the pack -- the pack being their party's platform. So, again, John McCain has experience following.
Remember, nothing here is not admirable. John McCain is a good man. No, he's a great man. But he is not equipped to be a great leader. His decisions as a presidential candidate have only reinforced that truth.
It's perhaps the biggest reason Barack Obama must be our next president.
posted by E-Luv at 7:31 AM
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