Our Uninspiring ‘Leadership’
I think it’s fair to say that we have the least inspirational president, Congress, District 1 and 2 U.S. representatives, Legislature, local union leaders and Hawaii governor in recent history.
We are dangling over the fires of recession and revenue shortfall that cannot easily be quenched. We could be inspired to tighten our belts and reach for solutions if we had inspirational leaders. We do not.
President Obama is the great disappointment of my liberal Democrat life. It was a mistake for him to start his leadership with that divisive health care plan, especially since it was filled with compromise. Then the budget compromise. Is that his Punahou School getalong-with-everyone heritage? He should have closed Guantanamo and ended Afghanistan. His televised speeches draw yawns. If he wins next year, it will only be because the GOP picks a Perry, Paul, Santorum or Bachmann.
The Congress? What a bunch both parties! They’re not running the country. They’re having a sandbox fight.
Don’t know about most Hawaii voters, but I’m unimpressed with the work of U.S. Reps. Mazie Hirono and Colleen Hanabusa. I smell Inouye-rubber-stamp. Especially when the senior senator rubber stamps their candidacies especially that unsubtle Hirono-overCase endorsement by attending her campaign events but not Ed Case’s.
The teachers’ union HSTA has become an embarrassment because its bargaining committee refused to submit the state’s contract offer to the members. Hey, guys, we’re in tough times and you can’t have it all while so many have nothing. You’ve given unionism a bad name. Tail cannot wag dog. Exgovernor Ben Cayetano was right. Let’s end binding arbitration and reinstate take-it-or-strike.
Then there’s Neil-The-Enigma Abercrombie, who talks before he thinks. He talks platitudes about canoes and imua. He seems to play it on the fly. He’s unable to inspire anybody but his sister-of-a-senator press secretary Donalyn Dela Cruz. Makes many of us yearn for Cayetano and Waihee or even Airyoshi but not Lingle. She could be inspirational. Her philosophies were screwed on like George Bush’s.
Columnist Lee Cataluna said Abercrombie should not have gone to Paris with his wife for their anniversary. Blogger Ian Lind said that was unfair criticism because the governor needs to get away. I vote for Cataluna and against Lind. Abercrombie should have said: “I wanted to go to Paris with my wife, but I know most of you are lucky to afford Disneyland these days. So we have ditched our plans and will spend our 30th year at the Hilo Seaside Hotel on the Big Island and spend our money in Hawaii’s economy.”
Governor, are you politically tone deaf?
No, I’m not getting ready to run for some office and doing slap-down prep work. I’m just mad as hell about our uninspirational leaders, and most of them happen to be Democrats.
I’ve always expected better from Dems.
Jack Kennedy once said that Lyndon Johnson as president would be a calamity for the country. LBJ knew how to get things done. Break some legs if necessary. Gave us our landmark Civil Rights Act. That from a Texan.
We’re unlikely to have Obama, Congress, our Legislature and our governor give us even close to pay-as-you-go budgets.
