What would your ideal be for the leader of this nation?
My thoughts immediately turn to the portrayal of John F. Kennedy by William Devane in the original 'Missiles of October'. Intelligent, with a fiery personality, but cautious in making decisions. Someone who, in a crisis, tries to get expert opinion from across the spectrum, but finally makes his own decision, based on the firm belief that less is often more, and respectful is better than vengeful. A moral person, taking the most humane path possible.
Only in movies? Probably so.
But it's not a bad model to shoot for.
Our leader should be firmly committed to a form of Hippocratic oath; first do no harm. The only way to make that so is to hold your fire until you are sure of the path and the action. A chess game, as it were, where you must think many moves out, and look for the path to your goal that costs both you and your opponent the least.
Passing the two contestants of this Fall's Election through this filter, gives neither a scare nor a smile. Neither fit the mold exactly, but both do far better than the alternatives that have fallen by the wayside.
You could say we're ahead of the game, but the final outcome is in limbo.
Mitt Romney does not bring to mind JFK or even William Devane's fictional portrayal of him. When I think of Mr. Romney in that movie I see him caving to the military and bombing the crap out of Cuba, with the likely result we would have received a nuke along our Eastern Seaboard in reply. Maybe even WWIII. We could all be living in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future right now, which, among other interesting possibilities, would have saved Hollywood the cost of countless box office bombs about the subject.
Barrack Obama isn't tons better. He'd be more thoughtful and he'd push back at the military, but maybe too hard and too brusquely. They'd be pissed, stage a coup, and bomb Cuba anyway. Or perhaps he'd dither too long and those missiles would have been activated and, well, game over.
But of these two, I'd rather have the current President Obama in office for the next four years. He's been a bit of an unsteady Crusader his first term, alternately tilting at windmills and breaking bread with windmill makers, but that hasn't been entirely unproductive. And at least he's been active, not passive, as I suspect a Romney Presidency would be.
Of course, Obama comes with one deficit. His next term would be his last, meaning he'll be a Lame Duck. There's a benefit there, in that he'd be able to focus on issues and not worry about re-election. Trouble is, there is also no reason anyone will have to work with him, since he'll be out of power before too long, and they can certainly wait out the time, even if the country can't.
There's an antidote to that problem: have an electable Vice President who is ready and willing to assume the office after Obama's second term ends. Sadly, that isn't the case with Joe Biden. Smart, dedicated, and a talented public servant he may be, but he's not electable. Not by a long shot.
Which leaves the Nation with a tough decision: do we want our leader to be milquetoast Romney or Obama the Crusader Duck?
I'll take the Duck, and continue to Hope ...
My thoughts immediately turn to the portrayal of John F. Kennedy by William Devane in the original 'Missiles of October'. Intelligent, with a fiery personality, but cautious in making decisions. Someone who, in a crisis, tries to get expert opinion from across the spectrum, but finally makes his own decision, based on the firm belief that less is often more, and respectful is better than vengeful. A moral person, taking the most humane path possible.
Only in movies? Probably so.
But it's not a bad model to shoot for.
Our leader should be firmly committed to a form of Hippocratic oath; first do no harm. The only way to make that so is to hold your fire until you are sure of the path and the action. A chess game, as it were, where you must think many moves out, and look for the path to your goal that costs both you and your opponent the least.
Passing the two contestants of this Fall's Election through this filter, gives neither a scare nor a smile. Neither fit the mold exactly, but both do far better than the alternatives that have fallen by the wayside.
You could say we're ahead of the game, but the final outcome is in limbo.
Mitt Romney does not bring to mind JFK or even William Devane's fictional portrayal of him. When I think of Mr. Romney in that movie I see him caving to the military and bombing the crap out of Cuba, with the likely result we would have received a nuke along our Eastern Seaboard in reply. Maybe even WWIII. We could all be living in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future right now, which, among other interesting possibilities, would have saved Hollywood the cost of countless box office bombs about the subject.
Barrack Obama isn't tons better. He'd be more thoughtful and he'd push back at the military, but maybe too hard and too brusquely. They'd be pissed, stage a coup, and bomb Cuba anyway. Or perhaps he'd dither too long and those missiles would have been activated and, well, game over.
But of these two, I'd rather have the current President Obama in office for the next four years. He's been a bit of an unsteady Crusader his first term, alternately tilting at windmills and breaking bread with windmill makers, but that hasn't been entirely unproductive. And at least he's been active, not passive, as I suspect a Romney Presidency would be.
Of course, Obama comes with one deficit. His next term would be his last, meaning he'll be a Lame Duck. There's a benefit there, in that he'd be able to focus on issues and not worry about re-election. Trouble is, there is also no reason anyone will have to work with him, since he'll be out of power before too long, and they can certainly wait out the time, even if the country can't.
There's an antidote to that problem: have an electable Vice President who is ready and willing to assume the office after Obama's second term ends. Sadly, that isn't the case with Joe Biden. Smart, dedicated, and a talented public servant he may be, but he's not electable. Not by a long shot.
Which leaves the Nation with a tough decision: do we want our leader to be milquetoast Romney or Obama the Crusader Duck?
I'll take the Duck, and continue to Hope ...
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