THINK!

Barack Obama made a pragmatic decision in choosing Joe Biden as his running mate. To me atleast, it was an obvious choice but there was always some doubt. Obama has a huge ego and his campaign has an even bigger one. It wouldn’t have surprised me had he taken Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as his VP (Vice President), just to spite Hillary Clinton. The fact that he did not do it should give Americans a lot of comfort. If a presidential candidate could rise above politics and ideology, it bodes well for the Democratic Party and the country. When the decision was delayed so long, I knew that Obama is not confident of carrying the race on his own and needed some help. The Georgia crisis just compounded that doubt. Listening to his response to the Russian/Georgian crisis, it was not difficult to spot the diffidence in Obama. Now it was a matter of finding the right person to bridge the gap and the obvious choice was Joe Biden. Now it is McCain’s move!

Senator John McCain is a political pro, he must respond in kind. The correct response has to be former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. A lesser known governor would not be of any help and McCain does not have the magic to carry the day on his own. These are interesting times for American politics. Personally, I like both the candidates and so could live with either one of them. The only thing that concerns me is, John McCain’s inherent Anglo-American disposition. Times have changed and the world has changed. My way or high-way is not the kind of leadership that we need at this stage. We may not like certain countries or some regimes but we have to learn to live with them and their points of view. America can not, and must not, impose it’s will on the rest of the world. McCain might be a hindrance to the Middle-East peace process as he hangs around with the likes of Joe Lieberman. American politicians need to learn something from their corporate counter-parts.

During early 1980s, American Corporate Sector was struggling against the emerging Japan and other Asian tigers. Jack Welch arrived on the corporate scene as Chairman & CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of General Electric. He understood the strategic strength of American industry and was not afraid to engage the world, where it suited his company to draw from the rest of the world. Jack Welch was a pioneer in out-sourcing and generating the wealth world-over. We need a similar break-through in American politics. We need a president who speaks softly but carries a big stick. America still has a lot of leverage in this world. What is lacking is the enlightened leadership. The next President of the United States must be self-confident, not afraid to talk to anybody and everybody. Multilateral engagement is absolutely important but bilateral dialog is even more desirable. Talking directly to rouge leaders is not a weakness but the strength that FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) showed when he engaged Joseph Stalin during the Second World War.

Filed under: American Tagged: | American Corporate Sector, Anglo-American, Asian Tigers, Barack Obama, Bilateral Dialog, Chairman & CEO, Chief Executive Officer, Democratic Party, FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, General Electric, Governor of Massachusetts, Hillary Clinton, Jack Welch, Joe Biden, Joe Lieberman, Joseph Stalin, Kansas Governor, Kathleen Sebelius, Middle East, Mitt Romney, Multilateral Engagement, Russian-Georgian Crisis, Second World War, Senator John McCain, Vice-President, VP