Yesterday Jack Welch was on Morning Joe spouting off about how the President should only be focusing on the economy right now. It has become the theme of the week from Republicans - that President Obama needs to only be focusing on the economy, stem cell reasearch is a "distraction" and that he is taking on too much too fast...blah, blah, blah. Like "suspending his campaign" really worked all that well or made any sense for John McCain to do.
It is all utter bullshit. I know that its a novel idea that we finally have a President who doesn't get distracted by shiny things and I understand that it is an intellectual challenge for the media, pundits and some politicians to keep up the mental agility of our new President. President Obama is currently doing what a successful and capable leader does - according to Jack Welsh, that is...
In the book "Winning" by Jack Welch, he details his "no excuses, get-it-done mind-set" (as the inside cover so proudly exclaims) that helped propel him to success at GE during his forty-plus year career there. My interest and his hypocrisy lies in Chapter 10 of the book which gives his insights on crisis management and what some leaders fail to do to effectively survive said crisis. He starts off the chapter appropriately enough discussing the firefighting analogy that Robert Gibbs so effectively expanded on and hit out of the park yesterday.
Here's the part Jack needs to re-read (p.148 par. 1 - in case Jack needs a little direction)
And on top of it all, crises demand from leaders a daunting balancing act. On one hand, you've got to throw everything you've got into understanding and solving the crisis. You have to unleash a torrent of time and energy, mainly your own, at dousing the flames. At the same time, you have to put that activity into a compartment and carry on as if nothing is actially wrong. That's what leaders usually neglect-to their regret. Because when you focus only on the crisis, it can overtake the whole organization, sucking it into a vortex of blame, dread, and paralysis.
As enormous as the economic crisis is, the fact is that President Obama still has a country to run. If he doesn't focus on education, our kids will be forced to repeat the same mistakes that got us here in the first place. If he doesn't focus on healthcare, the skyrocketing costs, or an unexpected illness will continue to remain at the heart of most families financial troubles. If he doesn't focus on stem-cell research, we cannot focus on prevention and cures and instead, pharma companies will continue to fleece the American people during their times of most distress. If he doesn't focus on drawing down the war in Iraq, we will continue to spend trillions abraod that we desparately need at home.
There are so many things that will demand the President's attention (many of them Bush screw-ups), and we fortunately elected and hired a guy with the intellectual ability to multi-task (aka walk and chew gum at the same time.) Fortunately President Obama is a student of history and fully understands that now is a time of opportunity to work on the intertwined issues that affect our economy. Hopefully he can help some of these dumbasses understand that our greatest Presidents were great because they tackled multiple issues during their crises.
Republicans are transparent - they claim to "he's taking on too much, too early" is the fact that they are intimidated by a politician, let alone a President, who is following through on campaign promises when not ramping up for re-elcetion. They are not used to someone checking off campaign promises like I check off items on my grocery list. They see their hope of republican resurgence in 2010, 2012, and potentially a generation of rule going down the drain. Whatever. That's their problem. President Obama is moving ahead, doing the work of the people and has accomplished more in two months that Shrub accomplished in 8 years.
Warren Buffett has an endorsement on the front cover of Jack's book - "No other management book will ever be needed." Perhaps some of these folks may want to re-read the book with today's crisis in mind. I am tired of all these hypocrits who fail to offer better alternatives (which the President has actively solicited) complaining when someone is trying their best to fix a mess that wasn't his.
Americans are still a country of basic values. You don't kick a man that is doing the best he can with what he was dealt and a problem that was not his fault. The country was behind Bush w/ 9/11 until it became apparent that he stopped trying and was hell-bent on neglecting the crisis at hand for a made-up one. Quite frankly, many in the country gave him a pass on even the above - it wasn't until the utter failure of Katrina that Bush lost significant support as people saw with their own eyes his lack of effort during a second American crisis on his watch. As long as Obama remains visible, keeps the American people informed, and demonstrates that he and his team are trying to fix this mess, I believe the American people will remain behind him.