4 ms·

I guess it's been a long time since anyone remembers what executive leadership looks like. Or can look like. Oh well.

by tmsh 16y ago

jbooth 16y ago
Heh, well if you want an education, go run for some political office yourself and see what it's like to deal with real world limitations. In the last few months he's secured chinese cooperation for sanctions against Iran, a generational nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia, a major health insurance reform bill, etc. Before that he led the stimulus and bailout effort which, while unpopular, does seem to have contributed to the fact that we're not in another great depression. In the next month or so we'll have financial reform and probably a crack at immigration reform after that. It's not like he's sleeping on the job. Marketed "executive leadership" consisting of a whole bunch of highly visible press conferences from the gulf might make you happier, but that's not leadership. Taking care of the parts he can help with in a 30 minute meeting in Washington and then spending the rest of his day attending to everything else in the country is leadership. But yeah, I'm sure Ronald "I have no idea what's going on in my office but I have great stage props" Reagan was a much better leader.
- tmsh 16y ago
  That's a good point. Clearly, he shouldn't be there for press conferences. Perhaps I misspoke by implying his 'presence' would be helpful. I was thinking more along the lines of organizing the cleanup. If we have a national catastrophe that will affect the gulf for decades, maybe permanently, I would just think that this is where delegation should be suspended. Obviously, I care about Obama and, perhaps not obviously, I don't think he's 'sleeping on the job'. It's just that sometimes in emergency situations, if the 'buck stops [with you]', you have to step up and make sure the job gets done as best as possible. Environmental disasters are extreme circumstances. They call for extreme diligence because our habitat is being irrevocably damaged. It doesn't have to be Obama himself. But a lot can be excused with the rationale of 'real world limitations'. Clearly, things are getting worse in the gulf. If you're a responsible executive, that's when you step in and manage it yourself. Or at least deputize yourself much more clearly and strongly. Maybe he's doing that behind the scenes. Hopefully.
- tmsh 16y ago
  Also, was just reading up on this more. But look at Salazar's history ('In 2006, Salazar voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast.') http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Salazar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Salazar Clearly, he is not qualified to head this effort. Via: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/10/focusing-spill http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/10/focusing-spill Nor are other people at the table, e.g., Jim Jones (formerly on the board of Chevron). Anyway, I love Obama. But I predict this becomes a classic case of not taking control of the situation coming back to bite him in the long run politically, and more importantly the environment...

I guess it's been a long time since anyone remembers what executive leadership looks like. Or can look like. Oh well.

by tmsh 16y ago

I guess it's been a long time since anyone remembers what executive leadership looks like. Or can look like. Oh well.

Heh, well if you want an education, go run for some political office yourself and see what it's like to deal with real world limitations. In the last few months he's secured chinese cooperation for sanctions against Iran, a generational nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia, a major health insurance reform bill, etc. Before that he led the stimulus and bailout effort which, while unpopular, does seem to have contributed to the fact that we're not in another great depression. In the next month or so we'll have financial reform and probably a crack at immigration reform after that. It's not like he's sleeping on the job. Marketed "executive leadership" consisting of a whole bunch of highly visible press conferences from the gulf might make you happier, but that's not leadership. Taking care of the parts he can help with in a 30 minute meeting in Washington and then spending the rest of his day attending to everything else in the country is leadership. But yeah, I'm sure Ronald "I have no idea what's going on in my office but I have great stage props" Reagan was a much better leader.

tmsh 16y ago
That's a good point. Clearly, he shouldn't be there for press conferences. Perhaps I misspoke by implying his 'presence' would be helpful. I was thinking more along the lines of organizing the cleanup. If we have a national catastrophe that will affect the gulf for decades, maybe permanently, I would just think that this is where delegation should be suspended. Obviously, I care about Obama and, perhaps not obviously, I don't think he's 'sleeping on the job'. It's just that sometimes in emergency situations, if the 'buck stops [with you]', you have to step up and make sure the job gets done as best as possible. Environmental disasters are extreme circumstances. They call for extreme diligence because our habitat is being irrevocably damaged. It doesn't have to be Obama himself. But a lot can be excused with the rationale of 'real world limitations'. Clearly, things are getting worse in the gulf. If you're a responsible executive, that's when you step in and manage it yourself. Or at least deputize yourself much more clearly and strongly. Maybe he's doing that behind the scenes. Hopefully.
tmsh 16y ago
Also, was just reading up on this more. But look at Salazar's history ('In 2006, Salazar voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast.') http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Salazar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Salazar Clearly, he is not qualified to head this effort. Via: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/10/focusing-spill http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/10/focusing-spill Nor are other people at the table, e.g., Jim Jones (formerly on the board of Chevron). Anyway, I love Obama. But I predict this becomes a classic case of not taking control of the situation coming back to bite him in the long run politically, and more importantly the environment...