Liberal Talk Radio

Ah, John Kerry! Thank you, thank you, thank you for demonstrating the courage, leadership, and vision to the American people that our president so sorely lacks. If you didn’t see last night’s debate, check it out. While the President stumbled and fumbled his way to a defensive posture that my grandpa would be proud of — replete with enough “ums,” “uhs,” and, “ahs” to get a sophomore kicked off the debate team — Kerry clearly and concisely presented his view — Saddam = “Bad”, Bush = “Dangerously Unwilling to Comprise”, Iraq = “Bloody, Unnecessary Mess” and Kerry = “Strong Leader.” Best line of the night — “Bush invading Iraq in response to 9/11 is like FDR invading Mexico in response to Pearl Harbor.”

So, John Kerry, I’ve criticized you in the past, but I have to admit that you’ve won me over. Godspeed to you. Last night was tough, and you not only survived, but walked away unbloodied while the President had at least a small trickle of red coming out of his nose. It wasn’t a knockout, but Kerry — you done good.

I’ll leave it to the pundits to go into further detail on that.

But there is one other thing I’d like to comment on. In addition to the conflict between the president’s dangerous stubbornness and Kerry’s obvious leadership qualities, there was something else that really stood out to me last night. For me, there was an interesting subtext to the whole debate, and that is — Kerry v Bush is also a tremendous conflict between new and old philosophies of leadership.

It’s probably not surprising that the president would prove to be a reactionary in leadership style, in addition to his backward stances on taxation, abortion, foreign affairs, and all else. Since he sleepwalked his way through Yale and partied his way through HBS, one can hardly expect that the Monkey King would’ve read a book like the excellent Leadership and the New Science, by Margaret Wheatley. So it’s no wonder that his leadership style sounds about as sophisticated as that employed by Vince Lombardi — stick to your guns, don’t admit a problem, and whatever you do, never, ever admit you’re wrong. It’s precisely the president’s failure to talk about the giant elephant in the middle of our collective living room that’s made Iraq the tremendous mess that it is.

Contrast this with Kerry’s leadership style. In the next edition of Rivet Magazine, I will argue that John Kerry will be America’s first Gen X president. And his leadership style reflects this. While Bush insists that you can’t be a leader if you admit mistakes, Kerry knows that in this day and age, it’s right to be upfront and honest with your followers — get problems out in the open, talk about them, figure out a solution that everyone can get behind, and then move forward together.

Time and again, I’m amazed at how so many of Bush’s supporters — supposedly freedom-loving, individualistic Republicans — are herded like so many sheep by this wolf. Hey Bush — people have a right to make up their own minds. If you don’t trust them with the truth, what do you trust them with? How many other lies have you told that you also refuse to own up to? And to any Americans who really believe that Bush is right — that it’s just better not to know and let someone else make up your mind for you ’cause that’s easier — I pity you. Not only do you refuse to engage your own mind, but you also choose to follow a bad leader to the edge of the cliff and over. Bush’s pipe plays a simple and alluring tune for people who need better. I pray for them, that whatever deity might be out there in the heavens will give these people the courage and strength to make the hard and right decision — anyone but Bush.