The Ability to Lead

In spite of my near addition to election coverage, this is the first time I’ve chimed up on the race. With all that has been written and rewritten in the last two years, I am not sure what I can really add that hasn’t been said by people who can say it far better than I can but here goes.

It has certainly been a race that has evoked passionate debate. However, I do believe there is a critical difference between the candidates that pretty much everyone can agree on. The difference certainly isn’t policy. People will likely never agree on what is the best policy. Nor should we. Healthy debate is good. The future has not happened yet, so there is really there is no way of being sure what works and doesn’t work.

It is perhaps execution that is more important that the policy anyway. Whether you agree with the policies of President Bush or not, it is much easier to agree that current administration’s execution has been truly awful. From the war to the economy, the lack of competence has been truly staggering. And don’t forget, George Bush by most accounts was a fine governor of Texas, one of the largest states in the nation, so clearly “executive experience” doesn’t count for much.

Speaking of experience, understand that any talk about experience in the campaign was never about determining if someone has the experience to be President. Experience was just another talking point in a tactic in the strategy to gain an advantage over the opponent to win the keys to the big White House.

The challenge is to determine if someone will do a great job of something they have never done before. This is especially a challenge in a presidential campaign as there are really no other jobs that compare. One has to look at other endeavors that people have taken on and look at the way they have taken them on to determine, if indeed a candidate has the ability to be a good over even great president.

Fortunately, for the last two years, we have been witnessing such an endeavor, this historic election campaign. A successful campaign both involves choosing exceptional people for the job at hand and leading these people in an effective manner. As luck would have it, these two abilities are perhaps the most important for a president as well. You might be able to get away with appointing your buddies to run a state, but clearly, this does not work well when running a large countrys.

While disagreeing on just about everything else, pundits on both sides have agreed that Senator Obama has run one of the best campaigns ever. A well managed, disciplined and excellently lead campaign. Many say even a brilliant campaign. He has raised more money than another other candidate in history from a record number of donors taking full advantage of the Internet. A campaign that started from nothing a mere two years ago and outflanked the Clinton’s, the most powerful political machine in the country. No small feat. For the first time in years, a Democrat has a better ground game, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people. Looks like being a community organizer really paid off.

Now to Senator McCain. With an unpopular Republican president and a crumbling economy, it is not apparent that even a flawless campaign would have done the trick. What is apparent that his train wreck of a campaign will most likely not. Remember way back to the primaries, where he planned a $150 million effort complete with a $10,000 a day bus. Well, the fundraising came up way short and he was forced to ditch the bus, his campaign staff and fly coach to New Hampshire. This does not bode well for someone hoping to be President in economically challenging times. He was meet by an aid at the airport. Traveling around the state to countless town hall meetings, he rebuilt his campaign and the rest is history. Certainly an inspiring comeback story, but, since he seems to be more adept at working by him self rather than leading a huge team. This is fine for a maverick Senator but will not work at all well for a president.

In spite of a military background, where discipline is not just a nice to have, it can be a matter of life and death; the McCain campaign has been sloppy. They have had trouble sticking to message. Staff spent $150,000 on clothes for Gov. Palin, not even thinking how off the hockey mom Joe Six Pack message that was. Even worse, they let the candidate take the fall. Yikes. Campaign staff has been complaining about Gov. Palin to the media. Again, this is not useful and speaks to a lack of discipline and leadership in the campaign. Such leaks are bad for a campaign. Just think how bad they could be for the country in a time of crisis.

The drama of the McCain campaign often draws more media attention than the message. We have enough problems in this world. While McCain’s drama makes good television, we really don’t need a president that seems to need to manufacture such distractions.

It almost is a shame that Senator Obama is a great inspiring speaker. This is what people first notice. Some don’t look beyond, dismissing him as an “empty suit”. Once you get beyond the soaring rhetoric, you will discover a lot more than empty. He has the ability to be a great president. He is focused, disciplined and is a very effective leader who surrounds himself with bright and capable people.

Even if you believe he is a socialist (I don’t), I argue that it is better to have someone who can successfully execute such an agenda as president rather than someone who will continue to bungle along with the free market. So what if he “pals around” with the “wrong people”. If you do your homework, he also “pals around” with the “right people” as well. McCain has some shady characters in his past as well. Anyway, courting such a diversity of opinions is a sign of a great leader.

Sen. Obama has lead a masterful campaign that has overwhelmed the Clinton machine and McCain, who has been running for president for the last decade.

His execution has been close to flawless. He is determined and relentless.

This is a guy you want on your side. This is the guy we need to lead the country.