Where are the Leaders?

I have been thinking a lot recently about politics and about the upcoming election. I have subscribed to some of the candidates email distributions to keep tabs on what they are up to, and to see if I they will provide me with any details about their positions. To say the least, I have been greatly disappointed in the communications to date. They have primarily been solicitations for money, apparently there was some major deadline on March 31 regarding fundraising, or common band wagon jumping (see the email I published yesterday from Hillary Rodham Clinton).

I have already pontificated about the lack of courage in our current political structure. That is someone who is willing to stand up, take a stand for what they believe regardless of the consequences of their actions. Joe Lieberman thinks of himself as courageous, but the fact that he turned his back on the party of his own state makes me question how courageous he really is, versus his own need to fulfil his selfish ego. I also wonder where are the great leaders today?

Are they being drawn into sports as coaches? Are they going into business looking to turn a buck, rather than give back to the public sector? Are they avoiding politics because of the amount and depth of scrutiny that mass media and the internet can provide, digging deep into the skeletons of potentially good leaders, making them choose not to get involved? I remember growing up in New York State, under Governor Mario Cuomo and thinking he would make a great presidential candidate. He never threw his hat in the ring, and some suspected because of illegal crime connections earlier in his political career. I don't know, but if it was true, it would have eventually come up then and especially today.

A person needs to (literally) keep their nose clean from the moment they step onto a college campus, or maybe even their high school hallways if they hope to acheive public office in the future. They must live the near-perfect life, never making any major mistakes, never encountering any extreme duress. What this seems to make is a perfect made-for-TV candidate, but what they lack is real life experience, mistakes, and character. I don't know if that is what makes a great leader, but I have to believe this modern methodology causes politicians to lack serious leadership capabilities and experience.

I was recently reading a Stephen Ambrose book about General Dwight D. Eisenhower, which talked about how the battles of El Alamein, helped forge Ike's leadership ability. Although the allies were ultimately victorious, there were plenty of tactical mistakes made. Ike took these lessons and applied them to the D-Day plans and the overall European invasion. Many historians believe without the North African campaign, we might not have won the war so quickly. Eisenhower was able to learn, adapt and build himself into a great leader. One of the best things that Ike brought to the presidency 10 years after El ALamein, was bringing the country together, (in spite of having Richard Nixon as his VP).

It is interesting to contrast that former president's career to our current president. George W. Bush clearly has a flawed past, which has been well documented elsewhere. There is no doubt he has skeletons in his closet that his family and supporters have done a great job suppressing and keeping from the public view or at least been able to mitigate the political effects of those skeletons. It is a bit sad that Bush has not used these past experiences to become a great leader. He is not been able to lead the entire country, but rather feels he only needs to represent those that voted for him.

I am hard-pressed to think of a great political leader today from either party. Maybe it is impossible in the information age for a true leader to emerge, because they need to be more concerned with glad handing and fund raising. I am hard-pressed to think of a great leader in the past 20 years or more. Someone that stands the test of time, that someone with a different political viewpoint would say, yes they were a great leader because they did what was right for the country, not for their party.

Is this simply a function of my getting older and more cynical, or have times really changed and attributes like courage and leadership are not as important as looking good for the camera, kow-towing to the political extremes, and the continual pushing of sound bytes themes into the news cameras and radio airwaves.