True Leaders

For years, I have invested in the stock market. Over those years, I have seen companies fall and, in a majority of cases, rise again. I have seen CEO's who have struggled to regain a company's strength and others who literally performed miracles. But, it is in those cases of "miracle recoveries" that you can really appreciate a true leader.

The miracle CEO's don't whine about the past or the mess they inherited. They quickly gather all the necessary data and establish a plan and stick to it without looking back. They let history judge their predecessors. That's not their job. Their job is to go forward. Each and every one of the true miracle workers has an air about them that says that they are in charge without being egotistical. They are motivators and they "lead" people down a path of success rather than "pushing" them from behind. They sway their detractors with convincing arguments so that, ultimately, they become supporters. And, they never once try to "divide" people or groups because they know that it is only in solidarity, and not division, that things truly get done.

For the last year and half I have watched Barack Obama in action and I have never once seen true leadership from him. He complains about inherited problems. He snaps at his adversaries whenever he's criticized. He divides the country up like a ginsu knife on a pile of vegetables by creating ideological, social, and political divisions among us. He lacks the skills to sway his detractors. Instead he uses cheap humor and caustic quips to try to denigrate them. He does not unite. He his no leadership skills. He attempts to lead by force and threats and not by persuasion and the results are a mangled mess. A glaring example is the disaster in the Gulf and how miserably he has handled it.