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Have We Missed the Key to Obama's Leadership Style?

huffingtonpost.com — I'm starting to suspect we've all missed the real story behind Barack Obama's leadership style. His recent actions may not have been driven by calculation or centrism, as most people thought, but by something else.

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  • tcbishop12, on 07/12/2008, -5/+36Obama will be, first and foremost, an American president. The first one in a long, long time. His highest loyalty will always be to the nation as a group.
    • Sweetzie1, on 07/12/2008, -6/+12Yes he will be; Yes he is; and Yes it will be.
    • SheilaNoya, on 07/12/2008, -6/+12I agree wholeheartedly. It will be a nice change to see a president who wants to represent ALL of us, instead of just 1/3 of us. We've just had 7 1/2 years of that and it's been a nightmare for this country.

      I was talking to an old family friend in upstate New York this morning. She's a 72 year old woman who has been a lifelong Republican, but she's voting for Obama now. During our conversation, we both reminisced about how it was once common for Republicans and Democrats to be good friends with each other. Those were the good years when we all considered ourselves "Americans" instead of being bitterly divided like we are now.

      Political disagreement is fine, but it doesn't need to rip us apart as a nation. It's time to find some common ground so we can move this country forward again.


    • cppwizard, on 07/12/2008, -12/+7Obama is a freshman senator barely halfway through is first term. No experience and hardly qualified to be Commander and Chief.
    • PolishLogic, on 07/13/2008, -4/+4Or to corporations....considering he voted to grant telecom immunity.
    • reland1, on 07/13/2008, -5/+3I swear...these profound liberal "thinkers" on here would vote for the devil himself...if he wasn't the wrong color! What in the world are ya'll thinking? Oh...never mind..............sheesh!
  • VCubed, on 07/12/2008, -5/+18Fascinating concept, that the man everyone's been debating is black, or mixed black-white, is also Asian in upbringing and leadership style - what a great model for how America's character is influenced by so many continents and cultures.
    • actorboy, on 07/12/2008, -4/+7G. W. Bush was the governor of Texas and had 4 years as president when he won his last bid for the White House. Please tell me how experience is critical to great leadership.
      • actorboy, on 07/12/2008, -2/+2Oopsy. My comment was meant as a reply to cppwizard's comment above this one. Sorry.
      • Panzwhore, on 07/14/2008, -3/+1And inexperience and change worked great for Carter... oh wait...
      • actorboy, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1@Panzwhore

        Carter was governor (like Bush) before he became president, which most people consider the best US political experience short of an actual term in the white house. If you want to pull out a candidate that had comparable experience, you would have to go back to Kennedy, who most consider a very good president. In short, you're making my point -- experience or lack thereof does not necessarily translate into how that candidate with serve as a president.
  • li0il, on 07/12/2008, -17/+8
    • spacester, on 07/12/2008, -2/+1I disagree but I don't bury a thoughtful response just for that.

      IMO you will only see Obama truly commit to a particular course of action when the threat is imminent and the decision needs to be made now. And good management means not letting most things get to emergency status in the first place.

      The reason for not committing is to allow a consensus to form. As Prez, he will allow room for people to find their own place at the table. Leaving smart options off the table is foolish. For example, Merit Pay for teachers: The Libs don't even want to talk about it. But Progressives must.

      The union of ideas across the political spectrum, wisely combined, could lead to some of the most intelligently written legislation in history. Combine the true compassion and grass-roots reality checks of liberals with the better qualities of conservative thinking (if any, YMMV). Guide these pigeonholed folks out of their caves with the vision of a true Progressive, and we could have something pretty cool going. Put the information on the net, and let's try to do Democracy 2.0

      So we are looking at a Prez who is the most committed to Progress but is the most non-committal about his future thinking as perhaps anyone we've ever seen.

      Mass confusion is right around the corner.
    • PolishLogic, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2You're being dugg down for pointing out Obama's shortcomings. Who would have guessed.


      You can add his support of the FISA Compromise and the Patriot Act extension to that list.
  • donelson, on 07/12/2008, -5/+20
    • Rotzooi, on 07/13/2008, -1/+3That all sounds very un-American to me!
      Hater.
  • Saitia, on 07/12/2008, -7/+8The “new politics” of Barack Obama are leaving many Americans lost in his dust. Traditionally they may have been categorized— and understood themselves to be— “liberals,” “conservatives,” “progressives,” “Republicans,” “Democrats,” and “Independents.” Not so surprisingly, a sizable majority of MSM pundits also have no idea what Obama means by a “new politics.”

    It has nothing to do with the dissection of political decision making by attributing it to left, right, or center, and it never did. These crude demarcations of political ideology never really yielded a true picture of the real values that form the basis of the decisions of a Barack Obama, or any other politician. Obama’s recent decisions have the various segments of his supporters, and his opponents, attempting to hammer them into the increasingly meaningless meme of the old politics, by whining “He’s tacking teh the center,” “He’s betraying the left,” “He can’t be trusted,” “He won’t go to Bagdad,” He’s just another liar,” “He’s a fundamentalist Christian!” blah, blah, blah— Because the MSM, and even some of the progressive blogosphere, still insist on seeing the political world through the grossly cynical but fading paradigm of the old politics. Thank you, Dick Bush; your legacy is upon us.

    Read: http://www.urantiansojourn.com/2008/07/05/18/06/00 ...
  • spacester, on 07/12/2008, -9/+2(double post, sorry)

    IMO you will only see Obama truly commit to a particular course of action when the threat is imminent and the decision needs to be made now. And good management means not letting most things get to emergency status in the first place.

    The reason for not committing is to allow a consensus to form. As Prez, he will allow room for people to find their own place at the table. Leaving smart options off the table is foolish. For example, Merit Pay for teachers: The Libs don't even want to talk about it. But Progressives must.

    The union of ideas across the political spectrum, wisely combined, could lead to some of the most intelligently written legislation in history. Combine the true compassion and grass-roots reality checks of liberals with the better qualities of conservative thinking (if any, YMMV). Guide these pigeonholed folks out of their caves with the vision of a true Progressive, and we could have something pretty cool going. Put the information on the net, and let's try to do Democracy 2.0

    So we are looking at a Prez who is the most committed to Progress but is the most non-committal about his future thinking as perhaps anyone we've ever seen.

    Mass confusion is right around the corner.
  • redcolumbine, on 07/13/2008, -5/+3FTA:
    'When it comes to policy he inclines toward the progressive position, but he's not thinking in terms of "winning" or "losing." His goal is group unity around the best possible realistic outcome. That means assess the situation, get what you can, then move to bring the parties together around a new consensus.'
    ***
    Ay, there's the rub. Best possible REALISTIC outcome. Progressives are optimists, and see foot-dragging as unaffordable capitulation in the climate of perpetual emergency in which the current administration has placed us. I can only hope that Obama is using his legal expertise to place his bets on reversible damage where he considers damage unavoidable.
  • thirdcoastborn, on 07/13/2008, -2/+4Obama 08'
  • savantemeritus, on 07/14/2008, -1/+2"Obama's highest loyalty will always be to the nation as a group, and he'll sacrifice partisan interests to preserve its cohesion. He won't get overly attached to any specific policy position. In the end, he'll make his assessment about what he can get and then default to the unifying position." --while this makes him sound like a flip-flopper, it actually describes the NUANCE that Obama brings to this polarized political landscape. Truth, I was disappointed by what seemed like hypocrisy and inconsistency but then again, he's adjusting to the situation... which, if I recall real life correctly, we all do.
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