LEADERSHIP CULTIVATION

Barack the Brainiac at G-20 Summit, Just Marvelous

President Barack Obama and his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama have really taken Europe by storm at the G-20 Summit in London, England. President Obama is making America proud with his performance with other world leaders.  Brains help.  Call it the return of the intellectual president. The Obama tag-team with their Ivy League pedigree exude confidence.  All the naysayers and purveyors of that "empty suit" nonsense during the presidential campaign have shrunk from view. The real qualification for president was always ability over experience.  And the President is showing that he has ability.

Americans are beaming because President Obama is standing head and shoulders above the other world leaders and he is leading.  The President is setting the agenda.  Political strategist James Carville is right. The President is displaying his best day in office, although I'm sure that he has had other good days that have been out of view of the public. When you watched the President fielding questions during his press conference,you got the feeling that you were listening to the brightest kid in his class.  Can you imagine the type of answers you would get if Sarah Palin was the U.S. President standing behind the podium instead.  Keep that visual in mind when Palin tries to make it a reality as the GOP nominee during the 2012 presidential campaign. Prediction: Barack "The Brain" Obama gets reelected by a landslide.

Rush Limbaugh Subjects Are Still Kissing His Ring

Some of us have been there.  When we tried to hide our collective deceit we asked the other person to try not to make it look so obvious.  You know, like sit on the other side of the table or show up at a different time, come in a different door or play the good cop, bad cop routine. I suspect that Rush Limbaugh has required more.  The leader of the Republican Party appears to have demanded his subjects to enter the room at the same time and kneel down and kiss his ring...in public. 

Rush Limbaugh has made it no secret that he wants President Obama to fail.  In his normal arrogant manner, the entertainer shouted it to the world.  When Michael Steele, the figurehead leader of the GOP objected, Limbaugh banished him to the dungeon. Now it's Bobby Jindal and Fred Thompson in a lockstep unity chorus singing praises to King Limbaugh that they want the President to fail.  Is it coincidental that Jindal and Thompson are singing the same GOP lyrics? I don't think so. One is a past presidential hopeful failure and one is a hopeful doomed to fail. To earn their commission, it seems that Limbaugh has required them to market an outdated product to an enlightened public. It won't sell beyond talk radio, because we the American people have tasted change and we like it much better.  

Persons with common sense will never allow Limbaugh to pick the next or any future president of the United States.  Sadly for some, presidential aspirations is an addictive drug that clouds good judgment. So expect the kissing of Rush's ring by the GOP to continue. If Jindal and Thompson have friends, someone should wake them while the train is still at the station to help them avoid the fate of becoming modern day "Rip Van Winkles" forced to face the reality that (civil)ization has left them behind.

Rush Limbaugh Punks Michael Steele

Rush Limbaugh spent his entire radio show on Monday ranting about Michael Steele not being the leader of the Republican Party even though he claims that he personally doesn't want the title.  Steele had vocalized on the D. L. Hughley Show that Rush wasn't the GOP leader and that he himself was in fact the de facto leader of the GOP. Not! At least not according to Limbaugh who all but turned Steele into a eunuch. 

But don't blame Rush, blame Steele for letting himself get punked. He blinked when Rush talked about cutting off his fund raising.  Plus Steele didn't get any help from GOP presidential hopefuls like Bobby Jindal who responded like a puppet by saying that Steele shouldn't have criticized Rush. He also didn't' get any help from Eric Cantor who also retreated from comments he had made which conflicted with Rush's desire for President Obama to fail.  

The Democrats will have a field day with this bone thrown to them by the GOP. Now all together class. Who is currently the leader of the Republican Party? RUSH LIMBAUGH!

Republicans Are Just Mad

My childhood friend Jerry used to say with much indignation, "You mad...then I'm mad too." My friend comes to mind because Republicans seen to be mimicking his philosophy.  They appear to be mad for no other reason except that other Republicans, especially Rush Limbaugh, seem to be mad, also.

The truth be told, Republicans are mad because they lost the presidency when the majority of Americans rejected their narrow-minded political agenda.  They are mad at each other because they can't decide on a new direction for the GOP and too many of them are pursuing selfish ambitions to be the 2012 presidential nominee.  The GOP is a political party in chaos.

Supposedly, they are mad at President Obama because of the make-up of the stimulus package.They are so mad in fact they a lot of their "silver spoon in mouth" governors playing politics, couldn't decide if they would accept stimulus money for their states. So while most of them don't feel the personal sting of a down-turned economy, they wanted to do the "noble" thing and reject funds that would help ease the burdens of people living in their states who are less fortunate.

The GOP are clueless right now and their "reject the stimulus money" gimmick was another ill fated strategy doomed to failure. They seem to think that being obstructionists is a good thing. But the message was clear with the election of President Obama that the American people want elected officials working together to find solutions for the good of the country. But the voice of the people is not penetrating the Republicans' deaf ears.

Someone "moved their cheese" and the GOP not being able to make the adjustment are standing pat and waiting for someone to bring it back.  I predict it's going to be a long wait.  Well, if it's any consolation for these obstructionists, after the mid-term elections, more of them will waiting in the luxury of their homes away from Washington for the arrival of more cheese.

Republicans Reject Change as They Begin 2012 Campaign

Barack Obama won the U.S. Presidency in 2008 because he was a cheerleader for what Americans have wanted for a very long time, an end to political gridlock.  We embraced this young visionary leader who wanted to put an end to governance according to the counter-productive strategy of red and blue states competition. With this lame philosophy of red and blue states, absolutely nothing ever gets accomplished.  Well, nothing positive gets accomplished, but the divisiveness of red and blue states competition has become a profitable product line.

For some, an end to 51 to 49 percent politics just might not be good for business.  People like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity will find it more difficult to meet their projected profit margins since more people will choose to turn them off. Why do you think Rush is so upset these days?  People working together upsets the apple cart. But worrying about Limbaugh and Hannity pales in comparison to the havoc that will be perpetrated by the party out of power, the GOP.  They will use whatever gimmickry they deem necessary in their effort to return to power.

Almost to the point of arrogance, Republicans have not been shy about their desire for President Obama to fail.  Even though the country is burned out on long campaigns, and even though President Obama has been in office less than a month, the GOP 2012 quest for the presidency is in full gear.  Their desire to win in 2012, trumps the economy being in the tank, high unemployment, the War in Iraq, a chicken in every pot, it trumps everything. Is it for the good of the country, as in country first? What do you think? 

So President Obama shouldn't be terribly surprised when he cannot muster significant Republican support for legislation that might reverse the downward spiral the country is experiencing right now.  Nevertheless, it still boggles my mind to think that we have politicians like Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky fighting to keep the status quo and the misery manufactured by the party in power the prior eight years.  Well, Mr. McConnell, the majority of the United States including your neighboring state of North Carolina, voted for change even if most in your home state did not.  We also voted for President Obama to spearhead that change.  We did not vote for more of the same. 

President Obama deserves credit for trying to build bipartisan support.  It's a great commonsense approach and it would yield widespread benefits. However, often when major change occurs, dinosaurs tend to insist that it is just a fad and stubbornly try to stand in the way of progress.  They simply cannot or refuse to adjust to reality and a sizable percent of them, simply get left behind. I imagine that is what will happen to a lot of Republicans when they run for re-election in the mid-term.  They will simply get left behind, because the rest of us are moving on.