So, I watched the presidential debate last night.
All I heard from Bush was, “I don’t see how you can lead when you say, ‘Wrong war, wrong time, wrong place.’ What message does that send?”
All I heard from Kerry was, “We should not have brought war to Iraq.”
Now, I have not kept up completely with it all, and I suppose that these issues are important to Americans, but not as much for me. I tuned in hoping they would discuss gay marriage, stem cell research, the environment, our social problems, etc. But I found out at the end that these “domestic” issues will be discussed in two weeks at the 3rd debate. I was more than a little displeased. But, it was interesting nonetheless.
A couple of observations. Both men came out swinging at the opponent, but refused to answer for themselves. One candidate would make an accusation at the other, and instead of doing a good, clear job of answering the accusation, he would side step it and return fire. Not what I was hoping to see.
Second, Kerry made it clear that Bush needed to humble himself and seek some forgiveness from various places. That, I agree with. Leadership books will tell you to always have a strong front, and not show weaknesses. I believe it is quite the opposite. If leaders want respect, they must seek forgiveness when they fail. If they make bad decisions, then the must come clean and say, “I screwed up.”
I believe that the inability to be humble is the very thing wrong with politics. Too much side stepping and spin doctoring. Maybe they teach that sort of thing at Ivy League schools. And maybe the American public wants a strong front of a person that they see no flaws in. And maybe we don’t want to show weaknesses to other nations. But if we want to lead in such a way that brings people together, I believe honesty and humility must be at the forefront.
2 comments:
Kerry's team was also very upset Bush didn't just simply admit those mistakes, they said this after they said they were hoping Bush would give them a chance to really dig deep. I find that interesting.
Also it's much easier for Kerry to say Bush should admit to what he's done wrong than for Kerry to admit to what he's done wrong himself.
That would have been my questions to him. "Senator Kerry, earlier you said that a good leader would admit to mistakes so that we can fix them...so what have you done wrong in your career?"
Quote from Kerry "I voted for the war and that was a mistake, Bush lead us into war and that was a mistake...which one is worse". Even Kerry seems to admit that we have no good choice this november, only a lesser of two evils.
Crystal Brown
Sam said: "Leadership books will tell you to always have a strong front, and not show weaknesses." Seriously, what have been reading? "The Prince" is the only leadership book I have ever read that has said something like that.
As for the debate, the election will be won on soundbites. If Bush admits to, say, claiming victory too early. It would be twisted to the point where it sounds like he's saying the whole thing was a mistake.
This is why I hate democracy. They will do very little wot let us know what they really intend to do with most of the issues. And frankly, I don't have the time and resources to know what I want done with most of the issues. I don't power to belong to the people, because frankly, I got too much on my plate for that responsibility.
I also feel like I'm being toyed with. I'm one in a few million, and my one is going to sway the electoral college?
Sometimes I let my two year-old play in the water while I do the dishes. When I'm done she gets down and tells everyone who will listen that she did the dishes. I let her believe she was a part to pacify her. Isn't this electoral process much the same?
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