The Leadership We Need: Saturday Political Soap Box 247

 

Not too much has changed for me during the COVID-19 era.  I work only a limited number of hours, but I've been semi-retired for three years now, so that's not an abrupt change.  I stay home a lot, but I wasn't much of a gad-about before.  We had Benjamin home from college from March through early August, but we have a natural, easygoing home life, so that wasn't too much of a challenge.  I don't miss going to meetings. I do miss community theatre, but not as much as I thought I might.

One of the minor effects is that I have had a bit more time to fire up my love of history.  I have read several history books and listened to podcasts, much of it focused on the post Civil War era.  Enough to know what a POS Andrew Johnson was, and what a historical mistake it may have been not to convict him in the impeachment trial.

But I have read about other stuff as well.  Including the excellent Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  It examines four Presidents who served at pivotal times in US History, and how their leadership steered us through critical periods and helped us emerge a better country.  The four were Abraham Lincoln, who navigated this nation through the Civil War and kept us preserved while helping bring an end to slavery; Theodore Roosevelt, who helped check the robber barons and wealthy interests from further increasing the income gap by anti-trust measures and mediating the early rise of unions; Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose courage and leadership helped see us through the Great Depression and World War II - you know, the war that was ended by the 1917 Pandemic*; and Lyndon Baynes Johnson, who brought about the civil rights legislation that the country had been needing for decades.

These men were great leaders for a number of reasons, as outlined by Ms. Goodwin.  They read or listened to others, intellectually absorbing the range of options they had, and choosing those needed in the best interests of the nation, particularly in moving the nation forward in achieving the best of its ideals.  They were capable of working with others and making the adjustments needed to make things work.  They had goals, but they were not ideologues.  They were not so full of themselves that they could not listen to criticism.  They had both academic and social intelligence.

This is not to say they were perfect.  They all had flaws.  Abraham Lincoln was sometimes slow to act on his anti-slavery instincts.  Theodore Roosevelt was far too fascinated with machoism and the military. FDR tried to pack the courts.  LBJ let the Vietnam War consume all the good he otherwise achieved.

But in the end, they all helped make America a better place.  They all helped lead us through turbulent times.

Overall, America has been extremely fortunate in having the right leader at the right time. That's not always true, but it is more often than not.  I would add the miracle of Barack Obama to the list. He inherited a huge mess in early 2009 and led us to the longest economic recovery in American history.  He was gracious and kind, pragmatic, and intelligent.  

Sometimes we come up a cropper.  Some are decent men but not suited to the times, like James Buchanan and Herbert Hoover.  Others are true scoundrels like Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson.  One stands above them all as the most unsuited and dangerous President we've ever had the misfortune of slipping past the electoral college net - Donald John Trump.  

But do not despair.  Although far from perfect, I believe very strongly that we have running the best leader for our turbulent times.  And that is Joe Biden.  He may not be your first choice or the best leader for all times, but I am convinced he is the best leader for THIS time.

We are crying out for an empathetic leader, who actually gives a s--- about us, and Biden may be the most empathetic politician I've ever seen.  As important as my Progressive ideology is to me, the most important thing to have right now is not pure Progressive doctrinaire - it is the pragmatism of Joe Biden.  

He will listen to others, especially the medical expertise we need to lead us out of the COVID-19 era.  Like Lincoln, I think he will have a cabinet of rivals and will do more to pull in Republican support (as ungrateful as they may be)that will be needed to successfully negotiate us to better times.  Like Teddy, I think he will stick up for the little guy.  Like FDR, he will pragmatically try whatever works and not be overly invested in his own ego - making whatever adjustments are needed to make it better.  Like LBJ, he has the experience to work with the legislature to move forward the goals most important to us.

No, Joe Biden will not solve all our problems, or stick to the Progressive agenda I believe we so desperately need.  But he will stop fascism in its tracks. He will patch things together to help us weather these turbulent times, and bridge us to greater achievements in the future.

I have to believe this.  The American experiment is too important to surrender.  The long arc of history must be bent to justice once again.

And I believe that the team of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can do that.