|
Behind the above question hides a more specific one, namely "Does Obama have sufficient government experience to be an effective President?" That question, however, may not be as relevant as it appears. When elected, Abraham Lincoln had no government experience, Franklin D. Roosevelt had plenty, and Ronald Reagan had some. Yet all three were great presidents. It is better to ask first what it does take to be President of the United States, what gifts and abilities the office requires. And in the process it must be remembered that before the President takes office he or she must be elected. Lose the election and no one will know how good you could have been. In fact the gifts and abilities needed to get elected and to successfully serve overlap to a degree, so let us list them: - Vision, inspiration, communication
The President is first a leader, with a vision for the nation and the ability to communicate it. The people care less about the details of policy and legislation than about the fact that the President knows where he is going and can explain it in simple words. If the voters are inspired and feel trusted, they will follow the lead. In order to translate the vision into reality the President must be a strategic thinker, able to visualize in broad strokes America's place in the world, the direction it must follow and the solutions to the problems and challenges facing the nation. He or she must see beyond the details to get hold of the big picture and keep the end goal in sight in spite of the pressures of the moment. Successful implementation of the strategy requires the ability to delegate. The President must - particularly in challenging times - surround himself with first class talent and delegate power to his subordinates, while maintaining overall control and making sure his team is working well together. Our political system is based on parties, and these differ in their approach to the issues facing government. The successful president must manage a difficult balance: on the one hand to conform to the party's ideology (or he/she will be neither chosen nor elected) and on the other to rise above it while in office (under threat of not being the leader of the whole country). All other abilities being equal, this is probably the most critical mark of a "great" president. Does Senator Obama qualify under the above criteria? One would give him a high score on vision and communication. Also, his well organized campaign and fundraising indicates he can find good talent and let his subordinates do their job. In order to satisfy the strategy requirement he should now begin to flesh out his vision and begin outlining the direction, the challenges facing us and the solutions he would apply, not in detail, but in broad brushstrokes understandable to all. And then the hardest part: rise above party ideology to a level of principle the majority of the electorate can agree with and support. In short, he has shown he has a good deal of what it takes, but he has plenty of work left to do. Now is the time to complete it.
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
In the absence of any other Independent candidate capable of election, it seems to me Obama is the most Independent thinking of all three major contenders.