A Consultant's Chronicles

Line of the Week 6-21-09

This has been a week full of events, some inspirational some sad, & some pathetic. Between the revolution in Iran, Governor Mark Sanford's peccadilloes, & the deaths of Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett, it seems fair to expect at least one worthwhile quip or directly relevant standout line but I didn't find anything fitting [read: printable]. I did find something that is at least in part, applicable from Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal.

Sharp Targets

Like many others on both sides of the political aisle, Noonan is concerned that Obama is trying to do too much [particularly when our country's bankroll is a little thin]. More pointedly she quoted something Claire Booth Luce said once said to former president Kennedy, which provides every president with a very sharp target. Of Luce, Noonan wrote:

"...'a great man is one sentence. His leadership can be so well summed up in a single sentence that you don't have to hear his name to know who's being talked about. 'He preserved the union and freed the slaves,' or, 'He lifted us out of a great depression and helped to win a World War.'  You didn't have to be told 'Lincoln' or 'FDR.'...' "

The Standard For 'Greatness'

It seems to me that this concept of greatness can be applied to people in all areas who make their mark. "He discovered electricity" or "he was the boy wonder of tennis." In these two cases no one needs to be told they referenced Thomas Edison or John McEnroe respectively.  What, if any will be "the sentence" for Michael Jackson?

Line of the Week 5-31-09

This week's line of the week belongs to Chris Mathews of Hardball. After critiquing the president's speech in Cairo yesterday he made the assessment that it was wise to speak to the young intelligentsia in the Muslim world since more frequently than not, they are the ones who inspire & plot terrorist attacks. He said the speech will initiate dialogue among them & summed things up in a folksy but pointed way. Mathews said:

"...If you are sitting around a Cairo cafe listening to kids talk, are they saying 'do you want to go to Michigan State or do you want to blow up Michigan'..."

While I don't suppose any political science textbook would use such terms, the fact of the matter is, that pretty much says it all.

Line of the Week 5-17-09

Unless your head has been buried in the sand you know that even though his term is up, Dick Cheney has been in the news...a lot! Remarking on the former VP's currently low popularity rating, Newsweek's Jonathan Alter got my vote for this week's line of the week. Quoting a GOP source on the Ed Show this week, he said:

"...Dick Cheney's popularity is somewhere between the old drinking age & the new drinking age [putting it at about 20%]..."

Putting this assessment into some kind of context, by comparison President Obama's popularity is almost at the point when people begin collecting their Social Security checks making a benchmark like the legal drinking age little more than a dim memory [or at about 60%]. Maybe we've discovered a new "rule of thumb." Business has the 80/20 rule [aka Pareto Principle] & perhaps in politics we now have the 60/20 rule?

Line of the Week 4-19-09

Discussing the newest revelations about torture, Pulitzer Prize winning author & Newsweek editor Jon Meacham tried to strike a balance by advocating for a reconciliation/ fact-finding committee in order to understand what actually happened. He was not however, in favor of getting bogged down in prosecutions. Referencing the words of historian Arthur Schlesinger he said: 

"...history to a country is like memory to a person; without it we don't know who we are or where we  are going..."

Then again, one could reasonably say that there were times in the last 8 years where those in power acted like an administration without a compass in terms of the future while suffering from intermittent amnesia when it came to the past.

Line of the Week 3-29-09

I heard this week's line of the week listening to commentary on Hardball about Barack Obama's first trip overseas as president. Comparing the effect Obama has had on the European community with his predecessor, radio talk show host E. Steven Collins reminded the audience of something his father told him [about achieving his goals]:

"...For you to get what you're not getting, you have to do what you're not doing..." 

So simple & so true.

Rise Up In Anger: Oohhh, Yes We Can

In today's Washington Post under the heading of anger management I saw the following picture reminding me of something we all learn as kids: " 'be careful what you ask for'..." Obama asked us to "rise up" [& create change]. However I don't think his plan was to organize against the Democrats & his administration's policies!!! 

 

Line of the Week 3-15-09

Given that this week was St. Patrick's Day, the line of the week belongs to the famed Irish-American Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Maureen Dowd.  Reflecting on Barack Obama's "generally less than authoritative manner," especially most recently when it came to handling the latest installment of the bonus debacles with AIG [re: needing to be cued by teleprompter to be angry], she had this to say:

"...he should keep in mind one of my dad’s favorite Gaelic sayings: 'Never bolt the door with a boiled carrot'...”

Words to live by.

Liddy Speaks: Why AIG Spent Money On 'Women & Grog'

Today Edward Liddy, the current CEO of AIG will be grilled by Congress today although truth be told, they along with the president are [in my view] "a day late & a dollar short" when it comes to their suddenly found outrage over the obscene amount of money spent on bonuses to a company in desperate need of taxpayer largesse.

Money Spent On 'Women & Grog' 

Nonetheless Liddy has written a cogent opinion piece summarizing the problem which apparently began in 1987...1987!!!! That's a span of 3 presidents who potentially could have caught & fixed this before it became a multi-headed monster so there is more than enough blame to spread around to all political parties. The best that can be said is that he [Liddy] didn't structure this insane compensation & is working for just $1 having taken over as CEO in September of 2008. I encourage everyone to take the time & read the piece because it does succeed in tamping down some of the anger because it reveals a real plan. Whether AIG will be able to keep the promises he is implicitly making is another story. However, in describing these insane bonuses, I think legal scholar Jonathan Turley summarized it best in an interview when he said:

"...When you give millions to the 'Pirates of Penzance,' you can hardly be surprised when they spend it on women & grog..!"

Sadly, his comment feels far too close to the truth!

In 2009 'It's the Economy Stupid" All Over Again

Immediately after Bill Clinton was elected to his first term, he gave an in depth interview to Ted Koppel on Nightline. The one & only thing I remember from that interview was when he said, "I'm going to focus like a lasar beam on the economy." Whether you are the president of a country, the CEO of a large corporation, or own a small business, it is always all about the economy. Clinton's campaign mantra of the 90's "it's the economy stupid" is back with a vengeance.

A Political Chef's Salad When We Want An Entree

Unfortunately, our current president is not communicating this message well. He has many big initiatives out on the table: the economy, healthcare, energy, education; it's a chef's salad when the nation is hungering for an entree. I understand that they are all critical issues but the net result is a diffuse message which is doing nothing to calm the frazzled nerves of the nation [& the markets] right now. With the singular exception of healthcare, perhaps all of the other issues need to be handed off to their respective cabinet members because we need the president's focus on the economy.  Why is healthcare the lone caveat? That's because healthcare costs are crippling business & their abilities to compete in the interbational marketplace so while it's a colossal issue, it is also related. We need lasar-like focus from this president & so does the rest of the world. It's called leadership in a crisis. That's my opinion, what's yours? 

Line of the Week 2-22-09

In one way or another, this week's news was all related to Obama's speech Tuesday night & this week's line of the week is no different.

Remarking on the Republican response given by the party's rising star Bobby Jindal, governor of La, former Congressman (R-FL) & current talk show host Joe Scarborough noted that he received a "tweet" from a former colleague who is still a GOP Congressman about Jindal's performance. Referring to Jindal's reply, the unidentified congressman wrote:

"...May Day, May Day; we're going down..."

Jindal may indeed be a 'comer' but I'd have to agree that this was an accurate assessment of his performance.