Fascinating New Obama Anecdote-Use It!

[Pirate Smile]

Fascinating New Obama Anecdote-Use It!

by maxnyc
Fri Apr 04, 2008 at 05:16:49 PM PDT

I was just watching David Gregory's "Race For The White House" on MSNBC and in the segment where they play a voicemail question from a viewer there was a tough question from a Clinton supporter about Obama's fitness to tackle the troubled economy.

maxnyc's diary :: ::

Margaret from Mt. Carmel:

28% of Americans say Obama's greatest weakness is his lack of experience. We need an economic superstar to win the economic tour de france. Do we really want to vote for the Democratic candidate who has training wheels on his bike?

Chrystia Freeland a panelist from the Financial News had a fascinating response:

I'd like to share a little bit of reporting on this point. The caller referred to Bear Stearns and Wall Street. And when you talk to some of the Wall Street supporters of Barack Obama they say that last summer when he was first coming to them, one of their big questions was 'How the heck are you gonna run the economy, you have no executive experience.'
And his answer was interesting. What he said then and it was before the campaign was 'I am going to use my campaign and the way I run it as a way to demonstrate to you and to the country what kind of a manager I am.'

Wow! That's a great anecdote and talking point for Senator Obama's management skills--compare that to the McCain campaign implosion in the summer and the disastrous episodes that have plaugued the Clinton campaign and you have a compelling argument for Obama's superior executive management skills. His campaign staff has been incredibly disciplined, coherent, and efficient. Witness the fundraising, the primary and caucus victories, the lack of news coming from paid campaign staffers (unlike Penn et al).

Freeland's anecdote should become a standard talking point for Obama supporters. I like the way it showed Obama's confidence in his own abilities. Talk about put up or shut up!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/4/194634/9689/787/490418

[C_U_L8R]

1. Obama's management chops are blowing the competition away.

There has never been such a well-run campaign.
It's truly extraordinary... and it's a wonderful demonstration
of the great President Obama will be.

[Cha]

2. I seem to remember this in all the

stuff I've read about Obama on DU in the last few months..thanks for this important reminder with the link, Pirate Smile! :)

Obama knew he could do it and he did.

[quantass]

3. Obama is BRILLIANT and so i find it funny that his ditractors forget to point out his superior

management skills as you point out! Thank you for brinigng this up...it really is amazing!

[TomBall Democrat]

4. Thanks -

You're dead on.

If Obama can run the country as well as he's run this campaign, my bank account is ready and waiting for a little prosperity!

40 million reasons in March to vote for OBAMA!

[NoBushSpokenHere]

5. I would add to that:

Say, for example, and it was a campaign where I raised and managed over 70 million dollars (Whatever the total dollar amount raised so far)... Quite impressive!

[Pirate Smile]

14. It was a start-up business also.

None of the three candidates have executive experience other then their Presidential campaigns. They should all be judged on their campaigns - including the people they've chosen to hire and run the campaigns.

[FrenchieCat]

6. That's called walking the walk......

That was Obama saying....watch what I do.

[psquare]

48. Actually it should be "walking the talk" n/t

[babylonsister]

7. Perfect answer every time, and the proof has been staring us

in the face! And then there's stuff like this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5388206

Thanks, Pirate Smile! :hi:

[roguevalley]

11. he gives me confidence. he reminds me of JFK, in that he stood

there and exuded a calm sense of confidence and humor that made you BELIEVE. That is why he reminds me of JFK and maybe Teddy too. He has the confidence and he surrounds himself with smart capable people. You may not remember that Kennedy said 'get me the smartest people you can find' for his cabinet and government and he did. He raided the universities and other places for smart people. No wonder that era is remembered as so golden. It made you want to go out and DO SOMETHING for the GOOD.

[babylonsister]

12. Yes! I honestly believe Obama wants to do the right thing, and has

some very good ideas about getting what he sees as urgent accomplished. That has required getting more people on board; he's done that. I'll just bet he can assuage some rethugs when the time comes. I don't doubt there will be things he accedes to I'm not happy with, but compromise is part of this game.

The tried and true 'change and hope' coming from his campaign resonates with me. He's so confident, I can feel it, too. :toast:

[immoderate]

18. Yes he evokes JFK!

I was in high school, JFK got us all interested in politics. Everybody was inspired to consider going into public service.

--IMM

[quantass]

8. ..and Let's not forget the Housing Crisis Letter he wrote WAY before it happened

Dear Chairman Bernanke and Secretary Paulson,

There is grave concern in low-income communities about a potential coming wave of foreclosures. Because regulators are partly responsible for creating the environment that is leading to rising rates of home foreclosure in the subprime mortgage market, I urge you immediately to convene a homeownership preservation summit with leading mortgage lenders, investors, loan servicing organizations, consumer advocates, federal regulators and housing-related agencies to assess options for private sector responses to the challenge.

We cannot sit on the sidelines while increasing numbers of American families face the risk of losing their homes.
And while neither the government nor the private sector acting alone is capable of quickly balancing the important interests in widespread access to credit and responsible lending, both must act and act quickly.

Working together, the relevant private sector entities and regulators may be best positioned for quick and targeted responses to mitigate the danger. Rampant foreclosures are in nobody's interest, and I believe this is a case where all responsible industry players can share the objective of eliminating deceptive or abusive practices, preserving homeownership, and stabilizing housing markets.

The summit should consider best practice loan marketing, underwriting, and origination practices consistent with the recent (and overdue) regulators' Proposed Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending. The summit participants should also evaluate options for independent loan counseling, voluntary loan restructuring, limited forbearance, and other possible workout strategies. I would also urge you to facilitate a serious conversation about the following:
* What standards investors should require of lenders, particularly with regard to verification of income and assets and the underwriting of borrowers based on fully indexed and fully amortized rates. * How to facilitate and encourage appropriate intervention by loan servicing companies at the earliest signs of borrower difficulty. * How to support independent community-based-organizations to provide counseling and work-out services to prevent foreclosure and preserve homeownership where practical. * How to provide more effective information disclosure and financial education to ensure that borrowers are treated fairly and that deception is never a source of competitive advantage. * How to adopt principles of fair competition that promote affordability, transparency, non-discrimination, genuine consumer value, and competitive returns. * How to ensure adequate liquidity across all mortgage markets without exacerbating consumer and housing market vulnerability.

Of course, the adoption of voluntary industry reforms will not preempt government action to crack down on predatory lending practices, or to style new restrictions on subprime lending or short- term post-purchase interventions in certain cases. My colleagues on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs have held important hearings on mortgage market turmoil and I expect the Committee will develop legislation.

Nevertheless, a consortium of industry-related service providers and public interest advocates may be able to bring quick and efficient relief to millions of at-risk homeowners and neighborhoods, even before Congress has had an opportunity to act. There is an opportunity here to bring different interests together in the best interests of American homeowners and the American economy. Please don't let this opportunity pass us by.

Sincerely
Barack Obama

[bhikkhu]

9. Kind of like Babe Ruth pointing to the outfield fence...

then putting it right out of the park, right there.

[quantass]

10. Great point

[Solomon]

13. Bowing solemnly.

:headbang:

[polichick]

17. I'm right there with you.

:headbang:

[LiberalAndProud]

31. I read that as Bowling solemnnly at first.

I spend too much time in GDP.

[stop the bleeding]

15. Open mouth and insert money

:beer:

Talk about walking the walk.

[SoonerPride]

16. On the other hand, you see a campaign that doesn't pay its bills

Even though the person runing in it has 110 million freaking dollars.

Yep, the choice is pretty claer.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

19. Great read. Thanks for posting.

[frazzled]

20. Okay, here's an anecdote about John Kerry and budget management

When he was just about ready to announce for the presidency, he came to the bicycle shop where my daughter had a summer job during her summer college breaks. She got to wait on him. She came home that evening and told me to tell my friends that John Kerry would make a good president. Why's that, I asks. He would be a good steward of the budget, she replied: he's a millionaire, but today he came in to buy some jerseys and he bought them all off the clearance rack. He'd be careful with the national budget!

Too bad we never got a chance to know.

[Muttocracy]

22. :-) great story nt

[Coexist]

21. damn, he is bold.

[Pirate Smile]

23. kick

[TexasObserver]

24. Obama's campaign has been run expertly. Contrast the Hillary disaster.

Even now, she can't pay her bills, while misrepresenting her contributions. General Elections contributions don't do her one bit of good, except as lying rights.

[oneofthepeople]

25. Expertly run campaign vs not so experttly run

Perhaps that is why Obama is at Missoula, Montana today with a 'free rally' that has sold out tickets at a venue that holds 10,000 with outdoor speakers to accomodate those who couldn't get tickets and Clinton has 'tickets available' for her fund raising event.

[TexasObserver]

26. She caters to fat cats while plying her lies to the ignorant.

He depends on getting people to inform themselves.

[indimuse]

27. yeah right..

[proud2BlibKansan]

49. How about researching who put those flyers out?

Here's a hint: It wasn't the Obama campaign.

Nice try.

[Qutzupalotl]

28. Leading by example.

I love it.

[PBS Poll-435]

29. Well, that solves it!

David Plouffe & Axlerod in 08, baybee!!!

[boston bean]

30. he fits in perfectly witn Wall Street, he

is a pro at bamboozling people out of untold millions of dollars.

[Yael]

42. Ah -- but HE is paying his bills....

*crickets*

[krkaufman]

32. The same comment was made to Marc Andreesen, during a conversation w/ BO in early 2007

http://blog.pmarca.com/2008/03/an-hour-and-a-h.html

We asked him directly, how concerned should we be that you haven't had meaningful experience as an executive -- as a manager and leader of people?

He said, watch how I run my campaign -- you'll see my leadership skills in action.

At the time, I wasn't sure what to make of his answer -- political campaigns are often very messy and chaotic, with a lot of turnover and flux; what conclusions could we possibly draw from one of those?

Well, as any political expert will tell you, it turns out that the Obama campaign has been one of the best organized and executed presidential campaigns in memory. Even Obama's opponents concede that his campaign has been disciplined, methodical, and effective across the full spectrum of activities required to win -- and with a minimum of the negative campaigning and attack ads that normally characterize a race like this, and with almost no staff turnover. By almost any measure, the Obama campaign has simply out-executed both the Clinton and McCain campaigns.

This speaks well to the Senator's ability to run a campaign, but speaks even more to his ability to recruit and manage a top-notch group of campaign professionals and volunteers -- another key leadership characteristic. When you compare this to the awe-inspiring discord, infighting, and staff turnover within both the Clinton and McCain campaigns up to this point -- well, let's just say it's a very interesting data point.

[Life Long Dem]

33. Exactly. The way he handled the Reverend Wright situation was beyond excellent.

He didn't have to say a word, he didn't have to give a speech, but he took the issue and gave a historical speech that will be forever remembered in the history books.

He proved himself to many over this incident to his management skills. That is the kind of experience I want to see from day one. And not someone who cries they have experience yet makes the mistake in sending us to war.

[Guava Jelly]

34. I heard one of the heads talk mention that quote on MSNBC yesterday

He is delivering what he said he would.
I think he is going to make a fine president.

[roseBudd]

35. AND a POTUS who has motivated enthusiastic supporters beyond the political junkie class

will be able to harness ground up support from the electorate. That is how change happens.

[maximusveritas]

36. Obama is the best manager by far

of the candidates left. It's not even close.

[jenmito]

37. I saw that show and loved Freeland's response! Thanks!

K&R!

[redqueen]

38. Has no one yet mentioned re-regulation? Really?

That was HUGE... it did a lot to solidify my support for him.

No nibbling around the edges, treating the symptoms... he's addressed the ROOT CAUSE and I admire him for it because the powers that be do not like the "R" word.

[MNDemNY]

39. David Plouffe '08 ! ! ! ! ! !

:shrug:

[1776Forever]

40. Obama campaign put a request out for supporters to say why we wanted them to go with Obama & that is

exactly what I said. I never had heard this before but to me the way he had ran his campaign makes me feel very happy to know that was what he thought was one of this greatest strengths!

:headbang:

[Yael]

41. The contrast between how these 2 leaders have managed their campaigns

is about as stark as I can comprehend.

Obama will be a fantastic President.

[quantass]

44. WELL SAID!

[EFerrari]

43. And that would be the right answer.

:)

[TexasBushwhacker]

45. Experience is like the stock market ....

past performance cannot be a guarantee of future results. BTW, as far as I know, there was no "lack of experience" at Bear Sterns, and they still fucked things up, didn't they?

[atal]

46. Not management skills, but LEADERSHIP Skills

That's where the differentiation is between Obama and Clinton (+all the other Presidential hopefuls)...

Obama is a Leader, while Clinton is only an Administrator, who will manage the Nation wonderfully and keep the status quo with little change due to her experience. She'll certainly be better than Bush, but she will never change Washington nor stop the influence of special interest groups.


You need leadership skills to bring about the Change Obama is promising.

[chill factor]

47. so true!

I have been in a leadership role in some corporations, and there is in fact, a difference between managers and leaders. Warren Bennis, a world-renowned leadership-trainer, says it best, "Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing." Bennis continues on,"A leader is one who commits people to action, who converts followers into leaders, and who may convert leaders into agents of change." I would submit that Senator Obama is the epitome of these descriptives on leadership. GO OBAMA!

[Pirate Smile]

50. kick