Given the fairly large slowdown in the way of current events (domestically and politically anyway… Israel is a big deal but not exactly my personal intellectual forte), especially as the country gears up for Jan. 20th, I have spent most of my time reading (and buying) a selection of books that have been recommended to me by various reliable sources. Given our current economic issues, I’m especially looking to strengthen my knowledge of free markets, capitalism, socialism, and economics in general, so most are of that slant. Here’s my current list, in case you would like to do the same.
OBAMA’S ‘CHANGE’: BACK TO THE DEMOCRATIC WASHINGTON INSIDERS, from DickMorris.com. This article is of special personal interest to me, given a conversation I had with a guy I met at a birthday party earlier this year, during the primaries. He informed me that the best thing about Obama was what an outsider he was, and how every person he brought in through his administration was going to be new blood. I would imagine that guy is fairly disappointed now, given that a huge majority of Obama’s people are old Washington hacks. Now that’s change I can believe in!
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace, from the Wall Street Journal. Written by a former John Kerry advisor, no less. One of my favorite things to do in the last couple years is to talk to all the gigantic “Bush haters,” and ask them to explain to me why he is so evil. Usually I get, “oh he’s a war monger,” or “he lied about WMDs!” Now don’t get me wrong, Bush has done plenty of things that upset me. But I can at least define what those things are. I guess what it really must come down to is the fact that Leonardo Decaprio and Kanye West think that Bush sucks, and that must mean it’s true. The level of blind hatred backed up by complete ignorance from most of this country over the last four years has been pathetic. It’s be nice to see general unfounded hatred replaced by obvious, unfettered Obama fawning from celebrities and the media for the next four years. Or not.
Joe the Plumber case still dripping from Ohio.com. If Obama’s/the media’s treatment of Joe The Plumber is any indication of what the next four years are going to be like, then fasten your seatbelts. If there was any justice in the world there would be rioting in the streets over this one. Government agencies using government resources to smear/discredit a private citizen because they dared to ask His Mercifulness a question? Terrifying.
Tolerance fails T-shirt test from the Chicago Tribune. An 8th grader wore a “McCain Girl” t-shirt to school as an experiment and recorded the results.
FRANKEN ‘FIXES’ STALK SENATE RACE from NY Post. Al Franken is an idiot, and I sincerly hope he doesn’t manage to weasel (read: cheat) his way into the Senate.
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.
