WP: The Choice: Different Instincts About Leadership

[kskiska]

Sunday, October 31, 2004; Page A01

Back last summer, John F. Kerry made an observation that struck him and his partisans as so self-evidently true it could hardly be disputed. The Democratic nominee said the U.S. intervention in Iraq so far has done more to recruit terrorists than to defeat them.

President Bush reacted with a disdain and disbelief that no one who heard it could doubt was genuine. "I don't think they need an excuse for their hatred and their evil hearts. You do not create terrorists by fighting back; you defeat the terrorists by fighting back."

There, in that exchange, was the 2004 election in miniature. There are two leaders who agree the world is a dangerous place, but disagree radically about the nature of history's test and the brand of leadership it demands. A mind that sees complexities and unintended consequences? Or one that understands the primitive nature of a new war, and is prepared to match the enemy's determination with his own?

(snip)

David Gergen, a writer and political commentator who worked for Clinton as well as a succession of Republican presidents, said American politics has rarely offered such a stark contrast in leadership models. The choice, he said, is "between fact-based versus intuition-based policies." Confronted with a policy decision, Gergen believes, Kerry's instinct is to study and seek to master the complexities of his choice; Bush's instinct is to act quickly, in the belief that a leader is better off to drive events and circumstances rather than be driven by them.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12463-2004Oct30.html

[bagnana]

1. I disagree with this analysis of John Kerry.

He is a thinker, but is by no means paralyzed by his ruminations. Remember his actions under fire in Vietnam. He decided the course of action -- turn the boats into fire -- and carried them out.

[Moderator]

2. Kick

:kick:

[saigon68]

3. The True CHIMPANZEE

The True CHIMPANZEE