President Obama says ...

8 Words of Wisdom for Week Ending 4/10/2009 #2

(W)e’ve got a global economy. And if we’re taking actions in isolation in the United States but those actions are contradicted overseas, then we’re only going to be halfway effective, maybe not even half.

You’ve seen, for example, a drastic decline in U.S. exports over the last several months. You look at a company like Caterpillar, in my home state of Illinois, which up until last year was doing extraordinarily well. In fact, export growth was what had sustained it even after the recession had begun.

As a consequence of the world recession, as a consequence of the contagion from the financial markets debilitating economies elsewhere, Caterpillar is now in very bad shape.

So if we want to get Caterpillar back on its feet, if we want to get all those export companies back on their feet so that they are hiring, putting people back to work, putting money in people’s pockets, we’ve got to make sure that the global economy as a whole is successful.

You simply have to be impressed by President Obama. He has a remarkable capability for conveying the seriousness of the crisis without falling back on hoary scare tactics. This is the mark of a real leader and it is the reason that, despite the numerous dishonest and venomous attacks from the right wing, Obama has maintained most of his popularity.

It's easy to mistake well-crafted showmanship for leadership. Yes, a President standing atop burning rubble while shouting platitudes through a megaphone has the appearance of leadership. A President landing on an aircraft carrier in a fighter while wearing a flight suit to proclaim victory in a war has the appearance of leadership. Scratch just a little beneath the surface and you can see the truth behind these moments. They were little more than stagecraft - empty of substance ... devoid of meaning. When President Bush climbed atop that pile of rubble in New York City the plans for war against Iraq had already begun, despite the lack of any evidence that they were involved in the attacks. The war itself had barely begun when he landed on that aircraft carrier. He had his chances to show real leadership and, like a Little Leaguer facing a big league fastballer, he whiffed every time.

The time for leadership was during the attacks when he sat like a deer frozen in the headlights in front of a group of school children before zig-zagging across the country on Air Force One, only appearing from an undisclosed bunker. He had his chance in the aftermath of the attacks when he set the country on the path to war with Iraq rather than focusing on getting, you know, the people who actually attacked us. He had his chance when he took us into the war in Iraq without a plan for ending the conflict and rebuilding the country. He blew so many chances.

President Obama has shown how a leader behaves in a crisis. He is always in front of the camera. He's holding press conferences where he takes real questions from real reporters. He is never less than confident that we will get past this and thrive again, but he doesn't sugar coat the situation. He tells us that this won't be easy. He tells us that this will take time. He tells us that this will require bold action and then he backs up those words with his budget proposal. This is leadership and this is what this country needs.

Source - Crooks and Liars