This passage from an essay written by Joe Klein in Time was resonant. In my opinion, this piece, read in its entirety, describes the key reason why the Americans should vote for Obama, particularly in relation to the economic turmoil and the Iraq war. Obama has demonstrable instincts as a true leader. He is measured and considered in his thoughts, words and deed. This extract does not do justice to Joe Klein's piece which should be read in its entirety. Malaysia's political leaders of every shade should read it for its description of how to behave as a leader. But, as a teaser, I give you this extract. I have highlighted the pertinent lines that resonated with me. Read the full essay here.
I asked Obama about gut decisions, in an interview on his plane 17 days before the election. It was late on a Saturday night, and he looked pretty tired, riddled with gray hair and not nearly as young as when I'd first met him four years earlier. He had drawn 175,000 people to two events in Missouri that day, larger crowds than I'd ever seen at a campaign event, and he would be endorsed by Colin Powell the next morning.
He seemed as relaxed as ever, though, unfazed by the hoopla or the imminence of the election. Our conversation was informal but intense. He seemed to be thinking in my presence, rather than just reciting talking points, and it took him some time to think through my question about gut decisions.
He said the first really big one was how to react when incendiary videos of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's black-nationalist sermons surfaced last spring. "The decision to make it big as opposed to make it small," Obama said of the landmark speech on race relations he delivered in Philadelphia. "My gut was telling me that this was a teachable moment and that if I tried to do the usual political damage control instead of talking to the American people like ... they were adults and could understand the complexities of race, I would be not only doing damage to the campaign but missing an important opportunity for leadership."
He seemed as relaxed as ever, though, unfazed by the hoopla or the imminence of the election. Our conversation was informal but intense. He seemed to be thinking in my presence, rather than just reciting talking points, and it took him some time to think through my question about gut decisions.
He said the first really big one was how to react when incendiary videos of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's black-nationalist sermons surfaced last spring. "The decision to make it big as opposed to make it small," Obama said of the landmark speech on race relations he delivered in Philadelphia. "My gut was telling me that this was a teachable moment and that if I tried to do the usual political damage control instead of talking to the American people like ... they were adults and could understand the complexities of race, I would be not only doing damage to the campaign but missing an important opportunity for leadership."
2 comments:
Over there, Obama took the race factor as a challenge to raise the bar on leadership. Over here our politicians only use the race factor to further their own ends.
Maybe it's a catch-22 situation. Without race, they think they won't get elected but the very race ticket that gets them elected ends up destroying everything they are supposed to build after getting elected.
If our turkeys who call themselves leaders can find within themselves the courage to bravely do the right things, surely no one will disbelieve they can't outdo even an Obama in raising the bar of true leadership.
But with race-based politics, how? The lines are already drawn by race, then by political party so that any solution will also be by race and by political party...and it has become so much so that other races or other parties (and lately other faiths) are expected to exclude themselves completely from saying anything that is not labelled theirs which however will later inevitably determine their fates as well.
But from the national angle, the problems are from neither, so how can there be a connect from leadership to solution to problem?
Secondly, in any horse-race you get the technicals upfront. Here none of the candidates of any party going into election has a vision of what he (or she) is aiming the rakyat towards. Neither does he have a position that can be argued on what to do on specifics like how to make our economy more competitive, our people more progressive, our social lives more interesting.
There is no single framework of mind that can translate into precise actions targeting specific achievements.
They only start feeling around for a position in reaction to each event as and when the events come about. That's how we get knee-jerks and silo mentality and asynchronous reactions, not activated proactions.
Which leaves one to ask - was Mahathir the only one who brooked the trend? It's easy to say yes ..but bear in mind he had almost greenfield openings to do the right things; he did some but it was by doing them in the wrong ways.
So leadership is having the right frame of mind and the will to do the right things in the right way that target great achievements for all without one at the expense of the others.
right or wrong?
bro walla
As always, spot on analysis loaded with wisdom and insight. I'm still taking notes from you, bro.
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