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Steve Jobs to Obama: “You’re headed for a one-term presidency”
- larrik 15y agoShouldn't have asked for Steve's opinion if you didn't really want it.
- vailripper 15y agoIt doesn't say anything about how Obama reacted, besides continuing the conversation with him. Who is to say he didn't appreciate the candor?
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- dennisgorelik 15y agoThat's interesting to see that Jobs treated Obama like a peer.
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- y3di 15y agoShould he have put Obama on a pedestal instead?
- dennisgorelik 15y agoOf course not. But many people still would take subordinate position during in a meeting with the US President.
- wuster 15y agoIt wouldn't surprise me if Obama was more in awe of Jobs than the other way around. After all, Steve's been in the spotlight for 30+ years now, and Obama was an unknown until 2004.
- sjwright 15y agoWhich always seemed odd to me. Is he your king? Or was his ascendency based on merit? There's politeness, and I get being star-struck, but beyond that...
- cdwhite 15y agoYes. For Jobs to treat Obama otherwise seems somehow anti-republican: the fact that Obama is Jobs' peer---and indeed yours and mine---is, I think, a notion deeply rooted in American political culture. Considering the possibility of Jobs showing deference certainly raises my hackles. At the same time, it's natural to be overawed by a man like Obama, with so much political authority (and however much remains of the tremendous moral authority he had when elected).
- vacri 15y agoJobs was one of the captains of US industry - who else should the head of government turn to for specialist advice on business? If your head of government isn't talking to the captains of industry, then there's something wrong - it's not just a US thing.
- kanamekun 15y agoGreat point! He actually almost insisted on it: Jobs seemed to insist that he interact only with Obama ("On the meeting, Jobs insisted that Obama himself ask for a personal invitation"). He also got annoyed when he was forced to interact with Obama's aides, especially when they didn't do everything he said: * "Jobs suggested that Obama meet six or seven other CEOs who could express the needs of innovative businesses — but when White House aides added more names to the list, Jobs insisted that it was growing too big and that “he had no intention of coming.”" * "Jobs even offered to help create Obama’s political ads for the 2012 campaign. “He had made the same offer in 2008, but he’d become annoyed when Obama’s strategist David Axelrod wasn’t totally deferential." You gotta give Steve Jobs credit for chutzpah!
- jayfuerstenberg 15y agoI see them as two leaders in their respective fields just talking shop.
- ajays 15y agoI would too. Just because he sits on a special chair doesn't put him above me. Now, I may respect a man for what he's _done_ ; but in Obama's case, that isn't much (ex Obama volunteer & donor here).
- protomyth 15y agoAn 11 month school year would be a nightmare and screw up summer activities. Plus, the misalignment of HS and College schedules will hurt advanced students. School going to 6pm in the northland is a non-starter and dangerous. (getting a little sick of the down votes without comment)
- codeslush 15y agoI will agree with you. I grew up way too fast, have a few kids of my own, and they are growing up way too fast for different reasons than I did. My reason? I worked from 13 on for wages. My kids? They're working much harder than I had to just to get a chance to go to a decent university. The pressure on our kids is pretty significant. To the point they WILL NOT miss school when they are sick. Can't miss this, can't miss that. It's better to go to school and get everyone else sick. It's out of control. 6PM would be a nightmare. The amount of homework my kids have is astonishing. I never experienced anything like it when I went to school. They are ALREADY working on it most of the night trying to get it all done. Yes, they are in AP classes - maybe it's a little different than the normal classes, but it's an option to those who desire it. Shall we keep them in school from early hours of the day until late hours at night? When do most of you eat dinner? 7PM? 8PM? 9PM? Anyone recall that "family dinner" - or did we all forget because we work 10, 12 or 15 hours a day trying to "do something." I can see how this is especially difficult in the midwest, and other parts of the U.S., where it is dark very early in the day in the winter. Dunno...just don't agree with this plan.
- myspy 15y agoMaybe Steve imagined something like the European system. You go to school until 5/6pm but you do your whole homework in school and the afternoon is for that and other activities to broaden the mind. Otherwise, that's a stupid idea. In Germany teachers are civil servants so they can't build unions, they can't get fired too, but they can pushed off their position when they are bad teachers.
- davedx 15y agoHuh? I went to school till 3:15pm.
- 9999 15y ago>keep schools open until 6 Sounds great, how do you fund it? >keep school in session 11 months out of the year Ditto. >let principals hire/fire based on merit Seems legit, do we really have to BREAK the unions to do that? The teacher unions have many legitimate reasons for their existence regardless of some of their negative attributes. >relax regulations on building factories Is that really what's holding manufacturing back here? It's not the cost of labor and providing benefits to workers? I can see how the additional costs of creating factories here might make it slightly harder to manufacture things in the U.S., but I find it highly dubious that Apple would suddenly start manufacturing its machines here even if all zoning/health/environmental laws were scrapped. >turning Jobs down on making campaign ads Crazy. Seriously. David Axelrod is a schmuck.
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- andrewtbham 15y agoI disagree about the teacher's unions. Drastic measures need to be taken. Some of the teachers with tenure are a disgrace to their profession and they can not be fired because of the strength of the unions.
- outworlder 15y ago>>keep schools open until 6 >Sounds great, how do you fund it? Reduce the "defense" budget. I wouldn't be surprised if you did the calculations and found out that schools could be open 24/7 with minor tweaks to the budget allocation. It is not a matter of funding, it is only a matter of priorities. Education and research should be first on the list. I believe Jobs was right, once again.
- Zev 15y agoHow do you reduce the defense budget, without screwing yourself over politically? At best, you could not increase it as much.
- loggedintocom 15y agoIs there any research that indicates that more time in school leads to better educational outcomes?
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- hammock 15y agoOn the subject of "You’re headed for a one-term presidency because the US can’t build factories": http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/car-company-us-loan-builds-cars-finland/story?id=14770875 http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/car-company-us-loan-builds-car... With the approval of the Obama administration, an electric car company that received a $529 million federal government stimulus loan guarantee is assembling its first line of cars in Finland, saying it could not find a facility in the United States capable of doing the work. "There was no contract manufacturer in the U.S. that could actually produce our vehicle," the car company's founder and namesake told ABC News. "They don't exist here."
- protomyth 15y agoIt would seem that for $529 million they could build one. Isn't Tesla building cars here?
- neworbit 15y agoThey got a factory on the cheap from Toyota that was being closed - not quite the same arrangement. c.f. http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/10/teslas-got-the-factory-now-it-needs-to-fill-it/ http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/10/teslas-got-the-factory-...
- Duff 15y agoMoney is one issue, time is another. In most US jurisdictions, dozens of entities have the ability to say "no" to a development project. In states that are actively hostile to business, like New York or California, there may be hundreds of people or groups that can slow down projects. Examples: Local Zoning Board; Whomever controls permits for running utilities; State/local environmental boards (Lots and lots of $$$ permits); Land speculators ("building a factory in this industrial park will ruin the views from XXX piece of land that we own"); Historical preservation maniacs. ("That collapsing house was was rented by Richard Nixon's maid"); Local politicians ("Oh, you need to build a 200,000 square foot building? Our master plan was modified last week -- buildings are capped at 150,000 square feet.); Local politicians in neighboring municipalities. ("Your project will generate too much traffic"); Local real property tax boards.; State politicians; Local construction unions. (Who will sabotage your project if you don't play along.); State Labor Departments, acting as agents for the construction unions.; Environmental pressure groups. ("Your stormwater mitigation strategy is insufficient, you're getting sued"); Federal regulators. In New York, things are so bad that any significant project is essentially done under the aegis of the state government, usually via a public authority. The government provides funding, and can cut through some of the red tape, since the State is not subject to local zoning law. But there are usually strings attached, and the process takes years. In China or Brazil, you basically partner with a connected local, and build your factory in a few months.
- lambdasquirrel 15y ago"Conservative" or just gets shit done? Maybe the real reason why we don't get shit done in this country is because we're so preoccupied with these worn-out ideologies. What if Jobs was right? What if it's too damn hard to build factories in America?
- vacri 15y agoWorn-out ideologies? Pretty much everything that Jobs is credited with saying in the article is a worn-out ideology. Bust unions! Remove regulations and cut workers' rates! Government needs to be more business-friendly! And what's more, I don't like the menu! Hardly fresh thinking, let alone innovative and non-ideological.
- rick888 15y agoWhen many regulations and unions that won't fire bad teachers are the norm, it's fresh thinking.
- zalew 15y agohey people, do a spinoff http://stevejobsoldquotesne.ws http://stevejobsoldquotesne.ws and give hn a break.
- genieyclo 15y agoI really hate all these politics links polluting the frontpage lately. If I could flag again, I'd do so quietly and not comment, but this is a little ridiculous. Perhaps I need another long break from HN.
- dolphenstein 15y agoThis isn't a political post. It's a "Steve Jobs yada yada" post. :-)
- jonmc12 15y agoRegarding China factory regulations vs US factory regulations, does anyone have a good point of view regarding working conditions at Apple's factories in Asia? ie, http://www.tomshardware.com/news/hexyl-hydride-n-hexane-poison-factory,12256.html http://www.tomshardware.com/news/hexyl-hydride-n-hexane-pois...
- badclient 15y agoHere's what I'm reading: Jobs, like many salesmen, tries to instill fear in Obama then offers to help with his campaign It's super sad that will never happen. It's crazy imagining what a Jobs final product towards a political campaign may have looked like.
- wuster 15y agoRe: what it would look like? I am guessing just like a typical Apple ad? * white or blurred background, putting the focus on product or user * clean graphics and visuals * montage of products in use, in real situations * subtlely snarky towards the competition
- badclient 15y agoWhat goes unstated is that Jobs' put his social beliefs above business. Obama is far from the ideal candidate to support if you'd like unions abandoned. And yet that is who Jobs' seemed to be rooting for.
- mattparcher 15y agoPerhaps most relevant to the current United States political climate: Steve Jobs was infuriated by “[Obama’s] focus on the reasons that things can't get done.”
- DavidSJ 15y agoJobs proposed … that schools stay open until 6 p.m. and that they be open 11 months a year. "He had walked several kilometres over pavements, and his varicose ulcer was throbbing. This was the second time in three weeks that he had missed an evening at the Community Centre: a rash act, since you could be certain that the number of your attendances at the Centre was carefully checked. In principle a Party member had no spare time, and was never alone except in bed. It was assumed that when he was not working, eating, or sleeping he would be taking part in some kind of communal recreation: to do anything that suggested a taste for solitude, even to go for a walk by yourself, was always slightly dangerous. There was a word for it in Newspeak: OWNLIFE, it was called, meaning individualism and eccentricity."
- Pheter 15y agoJobs exhibited his notorious attention to detail, telling venture capitalist John Doerr that the menu of shrimp, cod and lentil salad was "far too fancy". Attention to detail and a certain bluntness has been attributed as part of Steve Jobs' immense success, but this come across as plain rude. It doesn't matter if Jobs is right or not, it's bad etiquette to criticise another's work in this context. Of course, I am assuming that his opinion wasn't asked, and I know nothing of the relationship that Jobs and Doerr shared.
- forgottenpaswrd 15y agoWow, what Jobs really loved was getting in charge, a control freak. It became the face in the 1984 wall telling everybody what to do. If you want to send your children to boarding school so you don't have to educate them, more power to you. But if you want the state to become your nanny and top-down micromanaging how children gets results I beg to differ, specially when the person that want to control it is a dropout and risk taker but wants anybody else to get into conformity.
- ajays 15y agoWell, if staying in school longer (till 6pm, 11 months/year) is such a great idea, why didn't he stay in Reed longer?