Knowing what I do about the importance of a good team, I’m baffled about the way we run presidential campaigns as though they were one man (or one woman) bands. As I consider the ever-growing list of presidential candidates I have to wonder: who are their teams? Doesn’t it strike you as a little bit strange that we don’t demand that a presidential candidate introduce his key players before we vote? Who’s going to be running foreign policy? Defense? The Justice Department? Everyone acts like it’s such a big secret, and that’s a little scary. Can’t they at least give us a hint?
For example, would it make a difference to primary voters if they knew that Rudy Giuliani was planning to make Bernie Kerik Secretary of Defense if he won the White House? How about if Hillary Clinton wanted to bring Madeline Albright out of retirement as Secretary of State? What if John McCain thought Joe Lieberman would make a great Attorney General? These suggestions may seem wild, but who knows? The point is, we don't know. And that's a big problem.
The myth of the solitary hero riding to the rescue is still pretty strong in this country. But if we’ve learned nothing else from George Bush’s presidency, we’ve learned that it matters whom a president surrounds himself with. The key players on his team—Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Gonzalez—have made a huge difference. Some people think they’ve been the most influential gang in White House history. It’s fair to say that without Cheney and Rumsfeld, we probably wouldn’t be in Iraq. Yet back in 2000, when Bush was first running for president, he acted like the Lone Ranger. You may recall that Cheney was actually the guy in charge of vetting Bush’s possible vice presidential candidates. Cheney interviewed them, studied their strengths and weaknesses, and finally presented Bush with his verdict. The best person for the job was... Cheney!
I strongly believe that if the voters are going to make an informed decision about who will be our next president, we need more information about the other players. So here’s my proposal. In the next debate, the candidates should be asked the following: “If elected, who will be your vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense, and attorney general? And if you haven’t made up your mind, give us the short list for each position.” This should also be asked whenever a candidate appears in public, whenever he or she gives an interview, whenever there’s a discussion about foreign policy or domestic issues.
Being president is a pretty tall order. It’s not a job you can do alone. We have a right to know before we cast our vote for president who’s going to be responsible for actually getting the job done.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Mr. Iacocca, in relation to this entry, I also find it rediculous that nobody cares to know who will be administrating their federal government offices. It's absurd to think that no one is even interested in voting anymore, how can democracy survive if no one cares for it? I am from Puerto Rico, and I recently read your book Where have all the leaders gone. This book has solidified my interest in international affairs and my pursuit of a career in International Law. Besides this point, I wish to now your take on the political status of my island and what you think should happen. With best regards from a future governor of Puerto Rico, Rómulo Miranda
I agree with everything you've said about what's happening to our country. I've written so many letters to the President and my Congressmen that I'm sure they are promptly filed under nut case. It seems that no matter what, nothing changes our government's way of doing things.
I objected to this little cash present the government is giving us to fix the economic "recession" -- which is a joke. It doesn't fix anything, it puts us deeper in debt. I am so worried about our country and what is in store for our grandchildren, but I don't know what more I can do to change things. Most of my friends have their heads in the sand and they think I'm a weirdo when I voice my opinions and encourage them to get involved. It's depressing.
I hope you will talk long and loud and hope you will go on every program on tv to carry the message.
Sincerely, Beverly Thiels, Pine Knot, Kentuckiy
Can I name names here? I too, like bthiels write letters and emails to senators and congresspeople and representatives. Boxer, Stark, Feinstein, Pelosi. What I get back is the most ridiculous letter or email. Thank you for your concern, blah, blah, blah. The same letter they send all the "nut cases". And in Stark's case, I had input on how I would like him to vote on an issue and of course he was going to vote the opposite. Ms. Boxer added me to her email list so up until I changed my email address I was informed on what she was up to, at least what she wanted people to believe she was up to. If you do go to a public place to hear these candidates, don't they pick who they screen in advance, because they certainly don't want some crazy @$$ questions they are not willing to address. Well, that's my 2 cents worth.
Post a Comment