Posted on Monday, January 07, 2008 - 08:56 pm:

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quote:

"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up
with what's happening? Where the hell is our
outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've
got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of
state right over a cliff, we've got corporate
gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean
up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and
nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the
course".



Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is
America, not the damned "Titanic". I'll give you a
sound bite: "Throw all the bums out!"



You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone
off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to
speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.



The most famous business leaders are not the
innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're
fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and
nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is
waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions.
That's not the promise of the "America" my parents
and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had
enough. How about you?



I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a
patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm
ready and willing to have.



The Biggest "C" is Crisis !



Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged
in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with
your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send
someone else's kids off to war when you've never
seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to
lead when your world comes tumbling down.



On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader
more than any other time in our history. We needed a
steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of
a Mess.



So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a
bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for
leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the
history of the country. We're losing the
manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great
companies are getting slaughtered by health care
costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in
power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are
in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle
class is being squeezed every which way. These are
times that cry out for leadership.



But when you look around, you've got to ask:
"Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the
curious, creative communicators? Where are the
people of character, courage, conviction,
omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker
for alliteration, but I think you get the point.



Name me a leader who has a better idea for
homeland security than making us take off our shoes
in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent
billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy,
and all we know how to do is react to things that
have already happened.



Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of
Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a
single day evaluating the response to the hurricane,
or demanding accountability for the decisions that
were made in the crucial hours after the storm.



Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping
it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy.
Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure
out what you're going to do the next time.



Name me an industry leader who is thinking
creatively about how we can restore our competitive
edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that
there could ever be a time when "The Big Three"
referred to Japanese car companies? How did this
happen, and more important, what are we going to do
about it?



Name me a government leader who can articulate a
plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy
crisis, or managing the health care problem. The
silence is deafening. But these are the crises that
are eating away at our country and milking the
middle class dry.



I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't
elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and
remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked
and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead
on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break.
Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?



Had Enough?



Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and
doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm
speaking out because I have hope. I believe in
America. In my lifetime I've had the privilege of
living through some of America's greatest moments.
I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the
"Great Depression", "World War II", the "Korean
War", the "Kennedy Assassination", the "Vietnam
War", the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of
recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned
one thing, it's this:

"You don't get anywhere by standing on the
sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action.
Whether it's building a better car or building a
better future for our children, we all have a role
to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this
book. It's a call to "Action" for people who, like
me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's
getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap
and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had
"enough."



Excerpted from "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?".

Copyright (c) 2007 by Lee Iacocca. All rights

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Posted on Thursday, January 17, 2008 - 09:42 pm:

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quote:

Electile Dysfunction: the inability to become aroused over any of the choices for president put forth by either party in the 2008 election year.

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