Quote:
Originally Posted by crweeks64
tw, In my post (about not needing another Clinton or Bush) you claim that Obama is some kind of diplomatic genius. Where was that here?
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I never said anything about diplomatic genius. Obama knew exactly what great leaders do. George Sr (mostly Sec of State Baker) did same in Desert Storm. Which is why America paid so little for that war. George Sr in Desert Storm, Kennedy in the Cubam Missile Crisis, and Obama in Assad's Red Line did what the American diplomatic corp does well WHEN empowered by their leader who grasps the strategic objective.
Essential to leadership (what is also called officer material) is to see a bigger picture. To think strategically. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy's 'all star' advisers (Stevenson, McNamara, Dillon, Rusk, Ball, Robert Kennedy, McCone, Bundy, Sorenson, Nitze, Gen Taylor, etc) advocated unilateral invasion. Only Kennedy saw the fallacy of that. Eventually the 'all stars' reached that same conclusion. As a result, we all exist today.
Kennedy had a soft underbelly that Obama has. But more important is an ability to see that bigger picture. We know Obama saw that bigger picture in an economic crisis that could have created 40% unemployment. In meetings where such vision was necessary, George Jr walked out without any direction and John McCain (challenged to make proposals) had no grasp even of the reason for it. In that meeting called by George Jr, once the President walked out, then Obama clearly demonstrated leadership that directed and empowered Bernanke, Geithner, and Paulson (George Jr's Treasury Secretary) to save our ass.
Leadership has many characteristics. Most critical is the ability to think strategically. George Jr could not. Cheney and Nixon were driven by power - not the relevant objectives. Gerald Ford never demonstrated it. History has demonstrated that both Truman and Eisenhower had a much better grasp than what was known at that time. Surprisingly, Reagan demonstrated it mostly in his first administration. That is the most important characteristic of a leader. To point a valid direction and empower the little people to implement a solution.