When it comes time for a leader to make a decision, there are three possible outcomes:
- Make the decision and get it right
- Make the decision and get it wrong
- Don’t make the decision
The first two are related to a single action: make the decision. The outcome is never guaranteed no matter how good the leader is at making decisions, but a good leader makes the decision, right or wrong, based upon the best information available at the time and adjusts as the situation changes.
A bad leader makes knee jerk decisions and is forced to adjust even when the situation has not changed or, even worse, just keeps forging ahead with the bad decision.
The follower? He doesn’t make the decision; the situation evolves without his leadership and drives him down a path, good or bad, that is not of his choosing.
Barack Obama has, at times, exhibited all three of these characteristics and, fair or not, here is my take on what we can expect of a president Obama:
- When time allows, we can expect Obama to consult advisers, do in-depth research and make a decision based upon as much data as can be assembled. Decisions that do not have critical time constraints will likely not be made until Obama is 100% confident the decision he is making is right from his perspective
- When something needs to be addressed immediately, Obama has shown a tendency to react drawing from his limited knowledge and experience. This has the potential to lead us initially down the wrong path. During a campaign, spinners can make it appear that the right decision was made from the start and that we just misunderstood what Obama’s position was on a topic (eg. his response to questions about meeting with leaders of Iran, Cuba, etc.; his response to the question about capitol gains taxes; his statement that he would invade Pakistan — all three of these were respun later to appear as if we all just misunderstood or misrepresented what was said). There are no Mulligans in the real world. Obama does not always appear to understand the issues he speaks with authority on when speaking off the cuff; he is very good at making it appear that he knows what he is talking about, but he is frequently wrong, misstates facts, and draws conclusions that are clearly erroneous. In a campaign, the audience is a group of adoring fans, in the real world, the consequences can be significant.
- He will not be in a position to vote “present” and will be forced to lead, so there is no concern that he will follow the path he has taken in his role as a state and US senator. But we should be concerned that, even in cases where his vote was only a small percent of an overall decision by a legislative body, he did not feel prepared to take a stand on too many occasions.
In summary, Obama is not currently prepared to lead, but lead he will if elected president. There will be some rough days during the first couple of years, at least, as he gains knowledge and adjusts to a leadership role he is ill-prepared to assume on day one.
That’s my take… what’s yours?
Found this video over at Not Your Sweetie for your viewing pleasure:
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