Leadership and Communication

Good communication is a staple of good leadership. It is the ingredient that moves the country with purpose, separating the great presidents from the good presidents. It is well-reasoned, bold, rooted in historical truths and in touch with the realities of this fallen world.

While I do not believe that Bush 43 has been the worst president ever (usually postulated by someone who couldn’t name 5 presidents between Jefferson and Kennedy, let alone describe their policies), I think we can all agree that he has not been a good communicator. I do not mean this in the same way with which Saturday Night Live, Michael Moore and the liberal establishment has so much fun. I mean that Bush has not done a good job of presenting his case to the American people. He has not presented a message that is well-reasoned, bold, rooted in history, philosophy or national purpose and given repeatedly with conviction. The president is required to be the chief educator and in this regard Bush has failed miserably. Many times, his administration has simply hid its head in the sand and allowed the media to lambaste its proposals while the people slowly start to nod their heads, eventually won over by conspiracy theories, unsubstantiated myths and poor logic.

People want to believe. A good communicator merely has to tap into that vein. Thus, the infatuation with Obama. But it remains to be seen whether Obama has the gifts of leadership and communication - I mean this sincerely not as hyperbole - because his words thus far have been empty. They mean nothing. Even disregarding his countless policy shifts from his days as Illinois Senator and campaigner in the Democratic primary to his campaigning for president as a “centrist,” his words are mere boilerplate. Obama has already begun to backpedal because it is unlikely that he will achieve even 20% of his stated goals. Most are simply unachievable, either because they are unaffordable, unpractical or against the reality of human nature. He is the perfect candidate for the MTV generation:

I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide for the sick… This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.

Poetic? Sure. Well delivered? I suppose. Presented with conviction capturing that deep longing within us? Perhaps for some. But specific and unequivocal? Not so much. Courageous in the face of adversity? Not really. Rooted in history and experience? Absolutely not!

In contrast, listen to The Great Communicator sixteen years before he achieved the presidency:

The entire speech can be found here.  The speech transcript here.