Self Reverence
Howard Fineman is dead-on with his Newsweek piece about President Obama’s painfully frequent television appearances.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/216210
I could not agree more with his parenthetical note of the President’s “self-reverential” tone. Mr Obama does so often have a rather cocky countenance. He appears not only pleased with himself, but downright impressed. His tone of voice is too frequently condescending for my taste. He seems to think that everyone else in the entire international political community is beneath him. He even addresses us, his employers, as though we are not smart enough to understand what he really wants to say. There is a huge difference between making complex information comprehensive for the masses, and sounding like you think the audience is simplistic. Whatever doesn’t go his way, he starts pointing fingers like a siblings who each cry, “but he started it!” The perpetual incomplete state of his health care plan is Congress’ fault; they aren’t doing his job. Everything related to foreign policy is Bush’s fault. Underemployment and inability to put food on the table are the fault of hard-working people who fail to ’share their wealth.’ Mr President, it’s time to be a leader. A leader holds himself accountable, takes on problems one at a time, sees them through to the end, hires people with clean and relevant records, and always knows where every penny is going. A leader talks little, works a lot, and makes an appearance after the accomplishment is complete. A leader would praise his team and thank his supporters. A leader does not praise himself for setting lofty goals. A leader does not take on all challenges at once, then blame everyone around him for his lack of success. No leader asks millions of voters to hire him to be different from the last leader, and then upon receiving the job, complain that job comes with problems from his predecessor. He asked us to give him the problems of our country, and he promised us he could fix them! Now he’s eight months in, and he’s still complaining that his job is hard. Insert Debbie Downer sound effects here.
With three years and change to go, let’s hope that Mr Obama is a learner, a listener and an adapter. He must change his style and his tune to get the job done.
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