Obama and Bush: Compare and Contrast

I work in corporate America.  The company I work at is huge; massive.  I’m not a superstar.  I’m not an over achiever.  I’m a pretty low level manager in fact.  But – BUT I know what makes a team tick.

I know what a good manager should say and what a bad manager does say.

In my years as a corporate denizen I’ve come to learn to fear the characteristics of a bad leader.  And I’ve learned to identify those characteristics.

A good example of what I’m talking about is illustrated below.  Each man was President when a sought after criminal was captured or shot:

First take the words of Dubya:

The success of yesterday’s mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq . The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator’s footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force.  Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate ’em.

And the compare them to the words of Obama:

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network. Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan . And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad , Pakistan .

I’m not sure you can sum up the effectiveness of a Presidency in so few words, but you can get a hint at the style of the man.

Go ahead – read it again.

You’ll begin to see the difference between a man comfortable in his role as leader and a man who isn’t sure; is running scared.

Obama wasn’t qualified when he won.  And he isn’t qualified now.

And that’s my point.

14 responses to “Obama and Bush: Compare and Contrast

  1. There may be no “I’ in team, but there’s a “me”!

    But seriously, I’ve never seen a good leader in the civilian world.

    Never.

    Maybe its because I work in finance…

    • There may be no “I’ in team, but there’s a “me”!

      Love it!

      But seriously, I’ve never seen a good leader in the civilian world.

      I suspect that’s because there is a competing interest in corporate America. In addition to wanting the “team” to do well, you also have the individual wanting to do well. And those “wells” often times don’t mesh.

      They’re good leaders alright. You just have to be aware of what they’re leading!

    • So, when’s the last time America had a good leader?

      • Nick,

        I should have been more clear. I was talking about corporate America, not Presidents.

        I think perceptions of good leadership will likely fall sharply along political lines when talking about Presidents.

      • That makes more sense, I should’ve got that from what you wrote, but for whatever reason it just read the other way. And yeah, I have yet to have a good leader in the private or public sector.

      • Nick,

        I was spoiled in the military. The best leaders I had were in the Army. While the Army’s bureaucracy was an Orwellian disaster, its leadership development programs were the best in the world. None of this “talent” BS you see in corporate America.

        Standards were as unbiased as it could get. In training, even the most insignificant private had his say. If his lieutenant was screwed up, everyone knew about it. In corporate environments, survival dictates that you keep your opinions to yourself. As a result, problems fester and organizations rarely improve.

        It is this sort of learning culture that enabled the military to turn things around in Iraq.

  2. What an excellent post. It just sums it up.

  3. First of all, you’ve lifted this, without attribution, from a talking point that’s making the rounds, for example here: http://www.topix.com/forum/city/abingdon-va/T1VFJJRD2FM43UPB1

    Second, how is it that you think a man who takes repsonsibility for his actions (instead of casting everything in the third person) is a good leader? Obama accepts responsibility for making the call.

    As for giving credit, read the next few lines and they are astonishingly similar to Bush’s speech:

    Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

    Third, all you’re doing is whining about tone in a speech. You can’t complain about what happened, because it was a good thing, so you have to somehow turn it into a complaint that he didn’t announce it the way you wanted. And then you say it has something to do with being “qualified to be president.”

    • I meant “bad leader”, not “good leader”, in the second point.

    • First of all, you’ve lifted this, without attribution, from a talking point that’s making the rounds, for example here

      I lifted it from an e-mail sent to me by my brother’s co-worker. It had the look and feel of one of those chain letters going around. I tend to think those things are “public domainish”.

      Obama accepts responsibility for making the call.

      He did, and it WAS a good call. Gutsy and full of political risk. I don’t think many republicans are giving him hell.

      they are astonishingly similar to Bush’s speech:

      Much is similar. It’s the differences that I’m talking about.

      Consider football. After the game, a QB is interviewed:

      “Mark made a fantastic catch there in the end zone giving us the lead. Without that catch, we lose the game.”

      OR:

      “I called a perfect route and Mark made a fantastic catch there in the end zone. If I hadn’t made the critical decision to throw that pass, Mark doesn’t make that catch, we lose the game.”

      I don’t know what the “official” term is, but I call it “fishing”. And as I train my folks, I try as hard as I can to make them stop that fishing. It sounds horrible and doesn’t represent very well.

      On the other hand, it works amazingly well if you are speaking to another “fish” manager. Which, perhaps, explains why I’m still a rather low level manager 😉

      Third, all you’re doing is whining about tone in a speech.

      Yes.

      Context:

      I was drinking a beer at 11.30 at night. This guy sends me an e-mail, I chuckle and decide to take the low hanging fruit and make a post about it. I noticed the “tone” the night he made the announcement, I commented to my wife [a much higher level manager than me] that he sounded like a rookie manager in the office, she agreed, we went to bed.

      Since then I don’t think I’ve spent more than 30 minutes considering that.

      And then you say it has something to do with being “qualified to be president.”

      While I DON’T think he’s qualified to be President [I think I would be happier with either you or Sean as President] this has nothing to do with that.

      • Trust me, you wouldn’t want me as President, I’m far more liberal than the Prez.

        I believe you when you say this has nothing to do with his qualifications, but you did end the post with this:
        “Obama wasn’t qualified when he won. And he isn’t qualified now.
        And that’s my point.”

        It’s the jump from “I don’t like his tone” to “He shouldn’t be president” that got me so riled.

      • It’s the jump from “I don’t like his tone” to “He shouldn’t be president” that got me so riled.

        Fair enough.

        Though to be fair, I should point out that Obama being ineffective is my favorite part about him! Should he have been a more effective leader, he may very well have accomplished more of his liberal goals.

        Trust me, you wouldn’t want me as President, I’m far more liberal than the Prez.

        Depending on where you would focus, I may be alright with that.

        Gay marriage, stem cell, children’s health care, capital punishment, patriot act, military spending….I’m okay.

        I suspect you think we don’t tax enough, and that certainly bums me out, but hey, I can’t expect everything.

      • I lifted it from an e-mail sent to me by my brother’s co-worker.

        Which, by the way, should be included in Sean’s continued thread on driving traffic. People LOVE to see their name” in “print”.

        For me, the grand daddy of blogging is coyoteblog.com or mjperry.blogspot.com. Over the years, I would send them links or thoughts and sometimes it hit their site. I was like a kid at Christmas!

        Anyway, the point is, I may take more advantage of that grass-roots assistance in the future.

  4. Pingback: Obama and Bush: Compare and Contrast (via Tarheel Red) « womanontheright

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