Friday, August 6, 2010
Seeing and Describing the Bigger Picture with a Moonshot
As part of being a voter for the Emmy's, this past week I watched the movie Moonshot about Apollo 11's historic landing and Neil Armstrong's first walk on the moon. It is a story that any of us over 40 years old know well but what gets lost in the story of man going to the moon is the ability of our country, in that generation, to see and describe a bigger picture. As the movie depicts at the beginning, we see President Kennedy stating in the start of the 1960's that before the end of the decade we will put a man on the moon and we do so "Not because we choose to do what is easy, but because we choose to do what is hard". Those are inspiring words (and I must say that I long for the same inspiration from our current leaders). President Kennedy didn't launch the Apollo efforts just to put a man on the moon, he led this as a bigger picture response to both the nation's psyche of the cold war with the Soviet Union and the lagging of our countries ability to educate and produce students in science, technology, engineering and mathmatics. With one bold description of what the future could hold with a measurable outcome such as putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade, President Kennedy solved two bigger picture challenges for our country. BTW, we shouldn't forget that even after he was dead and an opposing party President was in office that President Kennedy's goal was still achieved. The bigger picture can transcend political barriers and divides if only that bigger picture can be seen and described. After 9/11, our past President may have had the moment to truly unite our country around service to others and to the country. For a fleeting moment it was there and then it flickered because of the lack of a tangible and compelling goal or "moonshot" type of vision. The same, I believe can be said about what could have been, or still could be, about how we have handled the Great Recession and the BP Gulf oil spill. One could argue that these both are rallying points crying out for the bigger picture and each with their distinct opportunities to reshape our country into something better and stronger. I am still optimistic that with the right bigger picture that there is a another "moonshot" of improvement and political unity in our future, but it will take a boldness that comes from being able to see and describe the bigger picture.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Inspirational Words After A Loss From Allen Alley
Earlier this month, Allen Alley, a Republican candidate for Governor of Oregon, lost in the primary. Allen and I sit on the Purdue Foundation Board together. He ran what appeared from afar a superb grassroots campaign as he covered the state meeting people face to face. After he lost he sent a note out and what struck me was the closing statement that is inspirational and applicable to all of us.
"My final message is to dream big. Think not about where we are but where we can be. Embrace our wonderful state and our assets. Don’t just think outside the box, shatter it. Lead. Remember that our lives will be spent turning dreams into memories and, in the end, we will audit our lives based on the memories we make. We’ve already made some great ones in 2010. Go make some more."
I suspect we will be hearing more from Allen in the future.
"My final message is to dream big. Think not about where we are but where we can be. Embrace our wonderful state and our assets. Don’t just think outside the box, shatter it. Lead. Remember that our lives will be spent turning dreams into memories and, in the end, we will audit our lives based on the memories we make. We’ve already made some great ones in 2010. Go make some more."
I suspect we will be hearing more from Allen in the future.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Kristen Madsen from The GRAMMY Foundation delivered...
...a most beautiful and eloquent speech about the importance of the arts, creativity and the wholeness that comes from digging and seeking for the full human experience.
From The GRAMMY Foundation's "CUE THE MUSIC" Event in LA on January 28, 2010:
At the 1939 Worlds Fair, when David Sarnoff, the founder of NBC introduced television, he clearly recognized the impact this new technology was poised to leverage. He said, “It is an art which shines like a torch of hope in a troubled world. It is a creative force which we must learn to utilize for the benefit of all mankind.”
In its public debut, this fledgling medium was introduced as an art form, a creative force. In that moment, it was bound together with its sister arts – endowed with a power that we in this room inherently understand, but to which so many others remain stubbornly tone-deaf.
The first people who truly understood the power of the arts were the ancient Greeks. They believed that the arts and astronomy were two sides of the same coin. Astronomy was the tool to understand the relationships between observable, external objects. The arts, on the other hand, could decipher the relationships between invisible, interior forces.
The arts can burrow into our hearts and unlock the puzzles they find there – in our interior selves. That exploration of what is life-sustaining inside all of us, while incredibly rewarding, requires great discipline and patience.
Today, we are surrounded by evidence that we are maddeningly willing to surrender to the seduction of sound bites and headlines.
Our capacity to dig deep is at risk of atrophying in a world where finding an opinion that matches our own is as simple as the click of a mouse.
We’ve allowed ourselves to become so mesmerized by the shiny penny of the mass quantities of everything available at any time, that we’ve forgotten that the volume itself is of no consequence – it’s merely a distraction.
Consider the very stark contrast between a carefully curated collection vs. the accumulations of a compulsive hoarder.
A single day spent diving deep is worth a lifetime skimming the surface.
And the velocity of change in our external environment – more relentless now than ever previously – also seem to be having an impact on our memories. Our ability to recall even our most immediate history – particularly if it is inconvenient or boring -- is itself becoming a thing of the past.
But of course, change will be our constant, if sometimes unwelcome, companion. In the words of my favorite tv character of the past decade, the philosopher/saloon owner Al Swearengen on HBO’s Deadwood, “Change aint’ lookin’ for friends. Change calls the tune we dance to.”
As we are being propelled along this journey, where the need to speed-communicate is apparently so urgent that we can’t even take time to type complete words much less sentences, remember that the arts are our best antidote to a “path of least resistance” life.
We may not be able to call our own tune. We can choose our favorite choreography. We should recalibrate our values to champion depth over breadth. We must celebrate the arts’ ability to give anchor to our memories and flight to our imaginations. Let’s all drink deep from that rich and nourishing well.
-Kristen Madsen
January 28, 2010
From The GRAMMY Foundation's "CUE THE MUSIC" Event in LA on January 28, 2010:
At the 1939 Worlds Fair, when David Sarnoff, the founder of NBC introduced television, he clearly recognized the impact this new technology was poised to leverage. He said, “It is an art which shines like a torch of hope in a troubled world. It is a creative force which we must learn to utilize for the benefit of all mankind.”
In its public debut, this fledgling medium was introduced as an art form, a creative force. In that moment, it was bound together with its sister arts – endowed with a power that we in this room inherently understand, but to which so many others remain stubbornly tone-deaf.
The first people who truly understood the power of the arts were the ancient Greeks. They believed that the arts and astronomy were two sides of the same coin. Astronomy was the tool to understand the relationships between observable, external objects. The arts, on the other hand, could decipher the relationships between invisible, interior forces.
The arts can burrow into our hearts and unlock the puzzles they find there – in our interior selves. That exploration of what is life-sustaining inside all of us, while incredibly rewarding, requires great discipline and patience.
Today, we are surrounded by evidence that we are maddeningly willing to surrender to the seduction of sound bites and headlines.
Our capacity to dig deep is at risk of atrophying in a world where finding an opinion that matches our own is as simple as the click of a mouse.
We’ve allowed ourselves to become so mesmerized by the shiny penny of the mass quantities of everything available at any time, that we’ve forgotten that the volume itself is of no consequence – it’s merely a distraction.
Consider the very stark contrast between a carefully curated collection vs. the accumulations of a compulsive hoarder.
A single day spent diving deep is worth a lifetime skimming the surface.
And the velocity of change in our external environment – more relentless now than ever previously – also seem to be having an impact on our memories. Our ability to recall even our most immediate history – particularly if it is inconvenient or boring -- is itself becoming a thing of the past.
But of course, change will be our constant, if sometimes unwelcome, companion. In the words of my favorite tv character of the past decade, the philosopher/saloon owner Al Swearengen on HBO’s Deadwood, “Change aint’ lookin’ for friends. Change calls the tune we dance to.”
As we are being propelled along this journey, where the need to speed-communicate is apparently so urgent that we can’t even take time to type complete words much less sentences, remember that the arts are our best antidote to a “path of least resistance” life.
We may not be able to call our own tune. We can choose our favorite choreography. We should recalibrate our values to champion depth over breadth. We must celebrate the arts’ ability to give anchor to our memories and flight to our imaginations. Let’s all drink deep from that rich and nourishing well.
-Kristen Madsen
January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
In Defense of Liberal Arts...A Must Read
Jon Meacham's latest article in Newsweek.
In Defense of the Liberal Arts
Published Jan 9, 2010
From the magazine issue dated Jan 18, 2010
At noon last Wednesday in Sewanee, Tenn., in a 19th-century Gothic hall dominated by a sandstone fireplace and decorated with portraits of somber bishops, the University of the South—my alma mater—elected a new leader, John M. McCardell Jr., the former president of Middlebury College. (We refer to our president as vice chancellor, in the English tradition. If the fates had ever brought Anthony Trollope and Tennessee Williams together to collaborate, Sewanee might have been the result.) Those of you who share an affinity for small institutions know the power of sentiment at such moments—how the old rooftops remind us of when we were young, and all of that. Arguing the interests of Dartmouth before the Supreme Court, Daniel Webster captured this feeling well: "It is, sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet there are those who love it."
I love Sewanee, an Episcopal university tucked away on 13,000 rural acres of the Cumberland Plateau. It is a place where students and faculty wear academic gowns to class, where the vice chancellor also serves as mayor, and where I spent four years without having a key to my room, much less locking it. Modernity intrudes with a single full-time traffic light on campus, but for years that incursion was ameliorated by the sight of a professor of religion's cat taking a daily nap on the street directly beneath the light. People knew to steer clear.
Belief in liberal-arts colleges like Sewanee, however, is about more than sentiment. As I sat listening to McCardell accept his election, I thought, not for the first time, about the difficulty of making the case for something so expensive and so seemingly archaic—an undergraduate liberal education—in an economic and cultural climate that favors efficiency and tangibility. It is inarguably hard to monetize a familiarity with Homer or an intimacy with Shakespeare.
It is just possible, though, that the traditional understanding of the liberal arts may help us in our search for new innovation and new competitiveness. The next chapter of the nation's economic life could well be written not only by engineers but by entrepreneurs who, as products of an apparently disparate education, have formed a habit of mind that enables them to connect ideas that might otherwise have gone unconnected. As Alan Brinkley, the historian and former provost of Columbia, has argued in our pages, liberal education is a crucial element in the creation of wealth, jobs, and, one hopes, a fairer and more just nation.
Barack Obama started out at such a school (Occidental in Los Angeles) before moving to Columbia, where the core curriculum requires undergraduates to be grounded in canonical literature, philosophy, and history. Steve Jobs, who dropped out of Oregon's Reed College, nevertheless credits a calligraphy class he attended there with providing part of the inspiration for the Macintosh. Employers say all the time that they value clarity of writing and verbal expression, and that they often find liberal-arts graduates expert in both.
We need to make sure that the liberal arts prepare people for a good life, not just the good life. For too long private colleges like mine have been seen, with more than a little justice, as provinces of the already affluent. Such institutions devote a lot of resources to remedying this, but educations at the more elite private schools are prohibitively expensive, and always will be.
Which is why the state universities that underwrite liberal-arts programs, including newish public honors colleges within large research institutions (Michigan and Georgia are two examples), should continue that good work. There is never enough money—or at least it seems as though there is never enough—but cutting the liberal arts is a false economy.
The other emerging market is the world of online education, which is one of the great democratizing stories of recent years. Like NEWSWEEK, Kaplan Inc. is a part of The Washington Post Company, so I am unapologetically prejudiced. Yet the fact remains that digital educational enterprises are to the 21st century what public universities were in previous generations: accessible and more affordable means for people to better their minds and their lives.
For some the future will be shaped by a Sewanee, for others by a business course taught online. The unifying theme that connected my own musings among the bishops (living and dead) was straightforward: if the country is to prosper—economically, culturally, morally—we have to trust in the institutions, old and new, that nurture creativity, and then hope for the best.
Jon Meacham is editor of NEWSWEEK and author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House and American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation.
In Defense of the Liberal Arts
Published Jan 9, 2010
From the magazine issue dated Jan 18, 2010
At noon last Wednesday in Sewanee, Tenn., in a 19th-century Gothic hall dominated by a sandstone fireplace and decorated with portraits of somber bishops, the University of the South—my alma mater—elected a new leader, John M. McCardell Jr., the former president of Middlebury College. (We refer to our president as vice chancellor, in the English tradition. If the fates had ever brought Anthony Trollope and Tennessee Williams together to collaborate, Sewanee might have been the result.) Those of you who share an affinity for small institutions know the power of sentiment at such moments—how the old rooftops remind us of when we were young, and all of that. Arguing the interests of Dartmouth before the Supreme Court, Daniel Webster captured this feeling well: "It is, sir, as I have said, a small college. And yet there are those who love it."
I love Sewanee, an Episcopal university tucked away on 13,000 rural acres of the Cumberland Plateau. It is a place where students and faculty wear academic gowns to class, where the vice chancellor also serves as mayor, and where I spent four years without having a key to my room, much less locking it. Modernity intrudes with a single full-time traffic light on campus, but for years that incursion was ameliorated by the sight of a professor of religion's cat taking a daily nap on the street directly beneath the light. People knew to steer clear.
Belief in liberal-arts colleges like Sewanee, however, is about more than sentiment. As I sat listening to McCardell accept his election, I thought, not for the first time, about the difficulty of making the case for something so expensive and so seemingly archaic—an undergraduate liberal education—in an economic and cultural climate that favors efficiency and tangibility. It is inarguably hard to monetize a familiarity with Homer or an intimacy with Shakespeare.
It is just possible, though, that the traditional understanding of the liberal arts may help us in our search for new innovation and new competitiveness. The next chapter of the nation's economic life could well be written not only by engineers but by entrepreneurs who, as products of an apparently disparate education, have formed a habit of mind that enables them to connect ideas that might otherwise have gone unconnected. As Alan Brinkley, the historian and former provost of Columbia, has argued in our pages, liberal education is a crucial element in the creation of wealth, jobs, and, one hopes, a fairer and more just nation.
Barack Obama started out at such a school (Occidental in Los Angeles) before moving to Columbia, where the core curriculum requires undergraduates to be grounded in canonical literature, philosophy, and history. Steve Jobs, who dropped out of Oregon's Reed College, nevertheless credits a calligraphy class he attended there with providing part of the inspiration for the Macintosh. Employers say all the time that they value clarity of writing and verbal expression, and that they often find liberal-arts graduates expert in both.
We need to make sure that the liberal arts prepare people for a good life, not just the good life. For too long private colleges like mine have been seen, with more than a little justice, as provinces of the already affluent. Such institutions devote a lot of resources to remedying this, but educations at the more elite private schools are prohibitively expensive, and always will be.
Which is why the state universities that underwrite liberal-arts programs, including newish public honors colleges within large research institutions (Michigan and Georgia are two examples), should continue that good work. There is never enough money—or at least it seems as though there is never enough—but cutting the liberal arts is a false economy.
The other emerging market is the world of online education, which is one of the great democratizing stories of recent years. Like NEWSWEEK, Kaplan Inc. is a part of The Washington Post Company, so I am unapologetically prejudiced. Yet the fact remains that digital educational enterprises are to the 21st century what public universities were in previous generations: accessible and more affordable means for people to better their minds and their lives.
For some the future will be shaped by a Sewanee, for others by a business course taught online. The unifying theme that connected my own musings among the bishops (living and dead) was straightforward: if the country is to prosper—economically, culturally, morally—we have to trust in the institutions, old and new, that nurture creativity, and then hope for the best.
Jon Meacham is editor of NEWSWEEK and author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House and American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation.
Friday, January 8, 2010
He's Just What I Expected...A First-Time CEO
It must be because I was, and continue to be, open about my political views and the switch I made from being a person who always voted with the Republicans, to becoming a person who votes for who I believe will be the best at the job at the time and that being now a Democratic President, that I get asked a lot openly, and privately; "What do you think of the job President Obama is doing?" From my Republican friends they are looking for ways for me to defend what they disagree with and trying to get a few, "I told you so's in". I am cool with that and I totally get where they are coming from. From the staunch Democrats, they don't ask the question. But, mostly,the question comes from people like me who made the switch and are now wondering if they made the right decision. They see the popular opinion moving away from the President, they see an aggressive and overwhelming agenda, they see worse than ever partisanship and arrogance from those on the winning and losing side of an argument, they see retiring Senators and Congressmen switching parties causing a loss in the power seats necessary to make change, they see unprecedented levels of spending and debt. And, they wonder, did I make the right choice? Let me be honest and open about it, "I wonder too".
However, I also believe that we are seeing the results of exactly what I expected President Obama to be. We are seeing the actions and results of a first time CEO. Long ago I wrote that a Senator becoming President is like asking the General Counsel to be CEO. They have a sense of what the job could be and they have been around CEOs a long time, but they have never sat in the chair and when they do, as a first time CEO, they will make first time CEO mistakes. That doesn't make them bad and it doesn't mean that they won't become great CEOs, but they need time to learn. The same is true of President Obama. The man I voted for to be President I knew did not have the experience to do the job. Instead I voted for him because I believed he had the vision, the conviction, the work-ethic and the potential to be great and I still believe that. However, the rookie CEO moves are evident:
Taking on to many things at once: The hardest thing to do as a CEO is to say no to an idea or an objective. You have to be willing to let somethings go to focus on the most important. The President said his agenda would be the economy, education, alternative energy and the war. He needs to get back to doing one significant thing in each area and let the rest go by the wayside.
Not knowing who the right people are on your team: This happens to first time CEO's...every time. The people you put on your team the first go around are not as good as they need to be and you default into what you know and don't know how to hire those who can do things that you don't know. There are different people for different stages of a company and the people who got your there are seldom the people who can get you to the next level. That is why first time CEOs need a great board or venture capitalist who can fill in around them. It feels like the President has not surrounded himself with the right people for the job and he is depending on the people who got him there, not the people who can take him to the next level.
Getting ahead of yourself: A little success and momentum is a dangerous things for a first-time CEO because you tend to get up on that wave and ride it like there is no tomorrow and if there are some accolades that come with it, you lean into that wave to try and go even faster. Unfortunately, waves ridden too long end up on the beach. Using the 60 vote power in the Senate as the leverage versus finding real consensus among the parties is not a good thing and I think the President may be riding that wave too long because the wave is going to go away next year and he will need then to have a different way of getting things done. If he doesn't start that now, then nothing will get done after the 60 votes are gone. This goes back to needing change in leadership around him. He needs to think long and hard about whether the speaker of the house and the Senate leader can lead in a way that gets things done without having all the leverage.
Hanging on to the wrong people too long: If you were the one that hired 'em, it's really hard to get rid of them and first time CEOs hang on too long to people who need to go. We can see this in the President's cabinet. It's time for some to go. Mistakes are mistakes but lack of results can't be ignored and in his case with only four years to govern, he can't afford to hesitate. Great CEOs are always upgrading their teams. I have ideas on who should be replaced, if anyone is interested.
You spend too much money: It's predictable like the sun coming up; first time CEOs when given a pot of money, spend it and because it is there, it gets gobbled up quickly. I like to tell first time CEOs who are raising money that the smartest thing they can do is only take the money they need, not the money they want. I remind them that we are Americans. We eat all the food that is put on the plate in front of us. First time, and lots of other CEOs, do the same with their budgets. The President is eating all of the food and more right now and needs to show that he can also enforce fiscal discipline. If he doesn't do this, I think this will be the Achilles heel for him in 2012.
All this said, I believe we have a leader who is doing the good things that you want a first-time CEO to do as well;
He is visionary.
He is working extremely hard.
He is great with externals...in his case other leaders around the world.
He takes accountability.
He is learning.
He is smart. I am impressed by the way that he allows things to start to the left and then through time and conversation they come back more to the middle. I'm not sure how he does this, or if it is really him, but this continues to happen and that is good for him and the country.
So, we have three more years to find out just how good of a CEO he can be. For all of the people who would throw him out now, I only ask you to think about the first time you were in a new job that was above you and you were learning your way...aren't you glad that someone else helped you along and saw your potential, versus just getting rid of you immediately?
My hope and daily prayer for our President is that he matures, learns and wises faster than humanly possible to become the great leader and CEO of our country that we need. And by the way, that will be my same hope and prayer for the next President, whoever he/she may be.
However, I also believe that we are seeing the results of exactly what I expected President Obama to be. We are seeing the actions and results of a first time CEO. Long ago I wrote that a Senator becoming President is like asking the General Counsel to be CEO. They have a sense of what the job could be and they have been around CEOs a long time, but they have never sat in the chair and when they do, as a first time CEO, they will make first time CEO mistakes. That doesn't make them bad and it doesn't mean that they won't become great CEOs, but they need time to learn. The same is true of President Obama. The man I voted for to be President I knew did not have the experience to do the job. Instead I voted for him because I believed he had the vision, the conviction, the work-ethic and the potential to be great and I still believe that. However, the rookie CEO moves are evident:
Taking on to many things at once: The hardest thing to do as a CEO is to say no to an idea or an objective. You have to be willing to let somethings go to focus on the most important. The President said his agenda would be the economy, education, alternative energy and the war. He needs to get back to doing one significant thing in each area and let the rest go by the wayside.
Not knowing who the right people are on your team: This happens to first time CEO's...every time. The people you put on your team the first go around are not as good as they need to be and you default into what you know and don't know how to hire those who can do things that you don't know. There are different people for different stages of a company and the people who got your there are seldom the people who can get you to the next level. That is why first time CEOs need a great board or venture capitalist who can fill in around them. It feels like the President has not surrounded himself with the right people for the job and he is depending on the people who got him there, not the people who can take him to the next level.
Getting ahead of yourself: A little success and momentum is a dangerous things for a first-time CEO because you tend to get up on that wave and ride it like there is no tomorrow and if there are some accolades that come with it, you lean into that wave to try and go even faster. Unfortunately, waves ridden too long end up on the beach. Using the 60 vote power in the Senate as the leverage versus finding real consensus among the parties is not a good thing and I think the President may be riding that wave too long because the wave is going to go away next year and he will need then to have a different way of getting things done. If he doesn't start that now, then nothing will get done after the 60 votes are gone. This goes back to needing change in leadership around him. He needs to think long and hard about whether the speaker of the house and the Senate leader can lead in a way that gets things done without having all the leverage.
Hanging on to the wrong people too long: If you were the one that hired 'em, it's really hard to get rid of them and first time CEOs hang on too long to people who need to go. We can see this in the President's cabinet. It's time for some to go. Mistakes are mistakes but lack of results can't be ignored and in his case with only four years to govern, he can't afford to hesitate. Great CEOs are always upgrading their teams. I have ideas on who should be replaced, if anyone is interested.
You spend too much money: It's predictable like the sun coming up; first time CEOs when given a pot of money, spend it and because it is there, it gets gobbled up quickly. I like to tell first time CEOs who are raising money that the smartest thing they can do is only take the money they need, not the money they want. I remind them that we are Americans. We eat all the food that is put on the plate in front of us. First time, and lots of other CEOs, do the same with their budgets. The President is eating all of the food and more right now and needs to show that he can also enforce fiscal discipline. If he doesn't do this, I think this will be the Achilles heel for him in 2012.
All this said, I believe we have a leader who is doing the good things that you want a first-time CEO to do as well;
He is visionary.
He is working extremely hard.
He is great with externals...in his case other leaders around the world.
He takes accountability.
He is learning.
He is smart. I am impressed by the way that he allows things to start to the left and then through time and conversation they come back more to the middle. I'm not sure how he does this, or if it is really him, but this continues to happen and that is good for him and the country.
So, we have three more years to find out just how good of a CEO he can be. For all of the people who would throw him out now, I only ask you to think about the first time you were in a new job that was above you and you were learning your way...aren't you glad that someone else helped you along and saw your potential, versus just getting rid of you immediately?
My hope and daily prayer for our President is that he matures, learns and wises faster than humanly possible to become the great leader and CEO of our country that we need. And by the way, that will be my same hope and prayer for the next President, whoever he/she may be.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
My Decade of Reading
Keeping a list of what you read (I have been doing it since 1993) and then being able to go back and review it is very interesting. Here is what I learned from my 10 year review of the 206 books I read in one decade:
*Most read Authors:
1. James Patterson (16)
2. John Grisham (11)
3. Nelson DeMille (10)
4. Michael Crichton (8)
5. Ken Follett (7)
6. JK Rowling (7)
7. Ann Rice (7)
8. Patricia Cornwall (6)
9. Tom Clancy (5)
*Book that I have no clue today what it was about: Winter’s Tale (Helprin)
*Book that I read twice but didn’t realize it until now: 1776
*Book that I told more people about than any other: Celestine Prophecy
*Book that stayed with me more than any other other than The Bible: Chasing Daylight
*Author that I fell in love with in the 2000’s: Michael Chabon
*Book that was the most wasted time: Charlotte Simmons (Tom Wolfe)
*Best Running Book: Once a Runner (John Parker)
*Heath Book that made a difference: The Antioxident Revolution (Kenneth Cooper)
*Page Turner of the Decade: The Day After Tomorrow (Hammer)
*Best New Authors for me: (tie) Jonathan Krakauer and Jodi Piccoult
*Best Business Book: (tie) The Living Company (De Geus) and The Tipping Point (Gladwell)
*Most eye opening Book: The World is Flat (Freidman)
*Book that had the least measurable impact for me: Triathlon Swimming Made Easy (Laughlin)
Top Books of the decade for me:
* Bridges of Madison County (Waller)
* Celestine Prophecy (Redfield)
* A World Lit Only By Fire (Mancehster)
* The Horse Whisperer (Evans)
* All the Pretty Horses (McCarthy)
* Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Berendt)
* Into Thin Air (Krakauer)
* Cold Mountain (Frazier)
* God of Small Things (Roy)
* She’s Come Undone (Lamb)
* A Perfect Storm (Jager)
* Snowcrash (Stephenson)
* House of Sand and Fog (Dubus)
* Seabiscuit (Hillenbrand)
* The Pact (Piccoult)
* The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Chabon)
* John Adams (McCullogh)
* The Corrections (Franzen)
* Summerland (Chabon)
* Life of Pi (Martel)
* The Kite Runner (Hosseini)
* Devin in the White City (Larson)
* The World is Flat (Friedman)
* Chasing Daylight (O’Kelley)
* Audacity of Hope (Obama)
* Talk Talk (Boyle)
* Team of Rivals (Goodwin)
* Water for Elephants (Gruen)
* The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Diaz)
* Old Men at Midnight (Potok)
* Once a Runner (Parker)
* People of the Book (Brooks)
* Change by Design (Brown)
Here is what I read over the first decade of the ‘oo’s:
2000 (24):
Black Notice: Cornwall
Saving Faith: Baldacci
Harry Potter and the Scorcer’s Stone: Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets: Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner Azbakan: Rowling
Above Black: Sherman
Timeline: Crichton
The Lion’s Game: Demille
Pop Goes the Weasel: Patterson
When the Wind Blows: Patterson
The Brethren: Grisham
Horse Heavenv Smiley
The Barbarians are Coming: Louie
Cradle and All: Patterson
Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire: Rowling
Memoirs of a Geisha: Golden
October Sky: Hickam, Jr.
It’s Not About the Bike: Armstrong
Beowulf: Harvey
The Bear and the Dragon: Clancy
Ender’s Game: Card
Snowcrash: Stephenson
On Ice: Ramus
2001 (22):
The Invisible Continent: Ohmae
King of the World: Remnick
Roses Are Red: Patterson
Code to Zero: Follett
Net Gain: Hagel
Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fishing: Curcione
House of Sand and Fog: Dubus
Waiting: Jin
Tuscan Childhood: Beevor
The Tipping Point: Gladwell
1st to Die: Patterson
Seabiscuit: Hillenbrand
The Pact: Picoult
Race Horse Training: Collins
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: Chabon
Derby Dreams: Bolus
The Hobbit: Tolkien
Fade: Cormier
P is for Peril: Grafton
The Fellowship of the Ring: Tolkien
Proof: Francis
John Adams:McCullough
2002 (27)
Indiana Gothic: Brock
Violets are Blue: Patterson
The Prometheus Deception: Ludlum
Half Time: Buford
The Fourth Hand: Irving
Investing in Thoroughbreds: Kirkpatrick
Last Man Standing: Baldacci
Stud: Conley
Good to Great: Collins
The Summons: Grisham
2nd Chance: Patterson
The Holy Grail: The Derby: Haskins
The Corrections: Franzen
Whistle While You Work: Leider/Shapiro
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh: Chabon
Connecting: Crabb
Mabel Dodge Luhan: Rudnick
Red Rabbit: Clancy
Runner’s Blood: Fischer
Clear Body…Clear Mind: Hubbard
Carter Beats the Devil: Gold
Difficult Conversations: Stone, Patton, Heen
Nights in Rodanthe: Sparks
A New Brand World: Bedbury
Summerland: Chabon
The Lovely Bones: Seybold
Doing Well when Doing Good: Guinness
2003 (16)
Up Country: DeMille
Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Twain
The Key to Rebecca: Follett
How Firm a Foundation: Grodi
Four Blind Mice: Patterson
Life of Pi: Martel
Prey: Crichton
Catch Me If You Can: Abergnale
The Greatest Generation: Brokaw
Harry Potter,Order of the Phoenix: Rowling
King of Torts: Grisham
The DaVinci Code: Brown
Dark Horse: Hoag
The Bible: Inspired by God
Oracle Night: Austere
Mere Christianity: Lewis
Moneyball: Lewis
2004 (8)
Ruthless Trust: Manning
Purpose Driven Life: Warren
Under the Banner of Heaven: Krakauer
Big Bad Wolf: Patterson
Endurance: Alexander
Prayer: Foster
Ordering Your Private World: MacDonald
Kite Runner: Hosseini
2005 (13)
Angels & Demons: Brown
Night Fall: DeMille
The White City: Larson
Chi Running: Dreyer
Wild at Heart: Eldridge
Life Together: Bonhoeffer
Trace: Cornwell
Heaven: Alcorn
The World is Flat: Friedman
The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe: Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew: Lewis
The Spirit of the Disciplines: Willard
Code to Zero: Follett
2006 (9)
Our Endangered Values: Carter
Freakonomics: Levitt/Dubner
Ultramarathon Man: Karnarez
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Rowling
1776: McCollough
Adventure Capitalist: Rogers
Search: Battelle
Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles: Brickner
The Bible:
2007 (19)
The Kitchen Boy: Alexander
Pope Joan: Cross
Chasing Daylight: O’Kelley
Growing Wise Slowly: Roper
The Tenth Circle: Piccoult
Making Your Childrens Ministry The Best Hour Of The Week: Miller/Stahl
Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: Laughlin
The Gospel According To John: Campbell
Audacity of Hope: Obama
A Year at the Races: Smiley
Winter’s Tale: Helprin
Harry Potter: Rowling
The Soul of Money: Twist
A Thousand Splendid Suns: Hosseini
The Bourne Betrayal: Van Bluster
The Life God Blesses: MacDonald
A World Without End: Follett
Cat's Cradle: Vonnegut
The Lost: Mendelsohn
2008 (30)
Talk Talk: Boyle
Cane River: Tademy
Red River: Tademy
Why Pray?: Wilhite
Thunderstruck: Larson
Thirteen Moons: Frazier
1776: McCullough
Ship of Gold: Kinder
Jesus, CEO: Jones
What is the What?: Egger
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union: Chabon
The Dante Club: Pearl
I am Charlotte Simmons: Wolfe
Pioneers: Cooper
Christian Spirituality: McGrath
Team of Rivals: Goodwin
Twilight: Meyer
The Shack: Young
New Moon: Meyer
Water for Elephants: Gruen
Eclipse: Meyer
New Dawn: Meyer
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: Diaz
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: Wroblewski
Stone Cold: Baldacci
House of Mondavi: Siler
The Hour That Changes The World: Eastman
The Bible: (New Living Testament)
Experiencing God: Blackaby
The Historian: Kostova
2009 (38)
Three Cups of Tea: Mortenson
All Things Are Possible Through Prayer: Allen
American Lion: Andrew Jackson In the White House Meachem
The Power of Positive Praying: Bisagno
Not For Sale: Batstone
Revolution: Barna
The Screwtape Letters: Lewis
Run for your life: Patterson/Ledwidge
The subtle power of spiritual Abuse: Johnson/Vonderen
Old Men at Midnight: Potok
Celebration of the Disciplines: Foster
The Art of the Turnaround: Kaiser
Wild Fire: DeMille
Slaughterhouse 5: Vonnegut
Once A Runner: Parker
Searching for Dad: Ricks
American Pastoral: Roth
Born to Run: McDougall
The Janson Directive: Ludlum
People of the Book: Brooks
Olive Kittredge: Stout
Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling: Crouch
The Machievelli Covenant: Follsom
The Help: Stockett
Master and Commander: O’Brian
Artemis Fowl: Golfer
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident: Colfer
Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code: Colfer
The Way: Escriva
Change By Design: Brown
A Gate At The Stairs: Moore
Brave New World: Huxley
Thomas Jefferson: Hitchens
Outliers: Gladwell
Underworld DeDillo
Gilead: Robinson
The Lost Symbol: Brown
The Power of Half: Salwen
*Most read Authors:
1. James Patterson (16)
2. John Grisham (11)
3. Nelson DeMille (10)
4. Michael Crichton (8)
5. Ken Follett (7)
6. JK Rowling (7)
7. Ann Rice (7)
8. Patricia Cornwall (6)
9. Tom Clancy (5)
*Book that I have no clue today what it was about: Winter’s Tale (Helprin)
*Book that I read twice but didn’t realize it until now: 1776
*Book that I told more people about than any other: Celestine Prophecy
*Book that stayed with me more than any other other than The Bible: Chasing Daylight
*Author that I fell in love with in the 2000’s: Michael Chabon
*Book that was the most wasted time: Charlotte Simmons (Tom Wolfe)
*Best Running Book: Once a Runner (John Parker)
*Heath Book that made a difference: The Antioxident Revolution (Kenneth Cooper)
*Page Turner of the Decade: The Day After Tomorrow (Hammer)
*Best New Authors for me: (tie) Jonathan Krakauer and Jodi Piccoult
*Best Business Book: (tie) The Living Company (De Geus) and The Tipping Point (Gladwell)
*Most eye opening Book: The World is Flat (Freidman)
*Book that had the least measurable impact for me: Triathlon Swimming Made Easy (Laughlin)
Top Books of the decade for me:
* Bridges of Madison County (Waller)
* Celestine Prophecy (Redfield)
* A World Lit Only By Fire (Mancehster)
* The Horse Whisperer (Evans)
* All the Pretty Horses (McCarthy)
* Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Berendt)
* Into Thin Air (Krakauer)
* Cold Mountain (Frazier)
* God of Small Things (Roy)
* She’s Come Undone (Lamb)
* A Perfect Storm (Jager)
* Snowcrash (Stephenson)
* House of Sand and Fog (Dubus)
* Seabiscuit (Hillenbrand)
* The Pact (Piccoult)
* The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Chabon)
* John Adams (McCullogh)
* The Corrections (Franzen)
* Summerland (Chabon)
* Life of Pi (Martel)
* The Kite Runner (Hosseini)
* Devin in the White City (Larson)
* The World is Flat (Friedman)
* Chasing Daylight (O’Kelley)
* Audacity of Hope (Obama)
* Talk Talk (Boyle)
* Team of Rivals (Goodwin)
* Water for Elephants (Gruen)
* The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Diaz)
* Old Men at Midnight (Potok)
* Once a Runner (Parker)
* People of the Book (Brooks)
* Change by Design (Brown)
Here is what I read over the first decade of the ‘oo’s:
2000 (24):
Black Notice: Cornwall
Saving Faith: Baldacci
Harry Potter and the Scorcer’s Stone: Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets: Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner Azbakan: Rowling
Above Black: Sherman
Timeline: Crichton
The Lion’s Game: Demille
Pop Goes the Weasel: Patterson
When the Wind Blows: Patterson
The Brethren: Grisham
Horse Heavenv Smiley
The Barbarians are Coming: Louie
Cradle and All: Patterson
Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire: Rowling
Memoirs of a Geisha: Golden
October Sky: Hickam, Jr.
It’s Not About the Bike: Armstrong
Beowulf: Harvey
The Bear and the Dragon: Clancy
Ender’s Game: Card
Snowcrash: Stephenson
On Ice: Ramus
2001 (22):
The Invisible Continent: Ohmae
King of the World: Remnick
Roses Are Red: Patterson
Code to Zero: Follett
Net Gain: Hagel
Orvis Guide to Saltwater Fishing: Curcione
House of Sand and Fog: Dubus
Waiting: Jin
Tuscan Childhood: Beevor
The Tipping Point: Gladwell
1st to Die: Patterson
Seabiscuit: Hillenbrand
The Pact: Picoult
Race Horse Training: Collins
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: Chabon
Derby Dreams: Bolus
The Hobbit: Tolkien
Fade: Cormier
P is for Peril: Grafton
The Fellowship of the Ring: Tolkien
Proof: Francis
John Adams:McCullough
2002 (27)
Indiana Gothic: Brock
Violets are Blue: Patterson
The Prometheus Deception: Ludlum
Half Time: Buford
The Fourth Hand: Irving
Investing in Thoroughbreds: Kirkpatrick
Last Man Standing: Baldacci
Stud: Conley
Good to Great: Collins
The Summons: Grisham
2nd Chance: Patterson
The Holy Grail: The Derby: Haskins
The Corrections: Franzen
Whistle While You Work: Leider/Shapiro
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh: Chabon
Connecting: Crabb
Mabel Dodge Luhan: Rudnick
Red Rabbit: Clancy
Runner’s Blood: Fischer
Clear Body…Clear Mind: Hubbard
Carter Beats the Devil: Gold
Difficult Conversations: Stone, Patton, Heen
Nights in Rodanthe: Sparks
A New Brand World: Bedbury
Summerland: Chabon
The Lovely Bones: Seybold
Doing Well when Doing Good: Guinness
2003 (16)
Up Country: DeMille
Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Twain
The Key to Rebecca: Follett
How Firm a Foundation: Grodi
Four Blind Mice: Patterson
Life of Pi: Martel
Prey: Crichton
Catch Me If You Can: Abergnale
The Greatest Generation: Brokaw
Harry Potter,Order of the Phoenix: Rowling
King of Torts: Grisham
The DaVinci Code: Brown
Dark Horse: Hoag
The Bible: Inspired by God
Oracle Night: Austere
Mere Christianity: Lewis
Moneyball: Lewis
2004 (8)
Ruthless Trust: Manning
Purpose Driven Life: Warren
Under the Banner of Heaven: Krakauer
Big Bad Wolf: Patterson
Endurance: Alexander
Prayer: Foster
Ordering Your Private World: MacDonald
Kite Runner: Hosseini
2005 (13)
Angels & Demons: Brown
Night Fall: DeMille
The White City: Larson
Chi Running: Dreyer
Wild at Heart: Eldridge
Life Together: Bonhoeffer
Trace: Cornwell
Heaven: Alcorn
The World is Flat: Friedman
The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe: Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew: Lewis
The Spirit of the Disciplines: Willard
Code to Zero: Follett
2006 (9)
Our Endangered Values: Carter
Freakonomics: Levitt/Dubner
Ultramarathon Man: Karnarez
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Rowling
1776: McCollough
Adventure Capitalist: Rogers
Search: Battelle
Christ in the Feast of Tabernacles: Brickner
The Bible:
2007 (19)
The Kitchen Boy: Alexander
Pope Joan: Cross
Chasing Daylight: O’Kelley
Growing Wise Slowly: Roper
The Tenth Circle: Piccoult
Making Your Childrens Ministry The Best Hour Of The Week: Miller/Stahl
Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: Laughlin
The Gospel According To John: Campbell
Audacity of Hope: Obama
A Year at the Races: Smiley
Winter’s Tale: Helprin
Harry Potter: Rowling
The Soul of Money: Twist
A Thousand Splendid Suns: Hosseini
The Bourne Betrayal: Van Bluster
The Life God Blesses: MacDonald
A World Without End: Follett
Cat's Cradle: Vonnegut
The Lost: Mendelsohn
2008 (30)
Talk Talk: Boyle
Cane River: Tademy
Red River: Tademy
Why Pray?: Wilhite
Thunderstruck: Larson
Thirteen Moons: Frazier
1776: McCullough
Ship of Gold: Kinder
Jesus, CEO: Jones
What is the What?: Egger
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union: Chabon
The Dante Club: Pearl
I am Charlotte Simmons: Wolfe
Pioneers: Cooper
Christian Spirituality: McGrath
Team of Rivals: Goodwin
Twilight: Meyer
The Shack: Young
New Moon: Meyer
Water for Elephants: Gruen
Eclipse: Meyer
New Dawn: Meyer
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao: Diaz
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: Wroblewski
Stone Cold: Baldacci
House of Mondavi: Siler
The Hour That Changes The World: Eastman
The Bible: (New Living Testament)
Experiencing God: Blackaby
The Historian: Kostova
2009 (38)
Three Cups of Tea: Mortenson
All Things Are Possible Through Prayer: Allen
American Lion: Andrew Jackson In the White House Meachem
The Power of Positive Praying: Bisagno
Not For Sale: Batstone
Revolution: Barna
The Screwtape Letters: Lewis
Run for your life: Patterson/Ledwidge
The subtle power of spiritual Abuse: Johnson/Vonderen
Old Men at Midnight: Potok
Celebration of the Disciplines: Foster
The Art of the Turnaround: Kaiser
Wild Fire: DeMille
Slaughterhouse 5: Vonnegut
Once A Runner: Parker
Searching for Dad: Ricks
American Pastoral: Roth
Born to Run: McDougall
The Janson Directive: Ludlum
People of the Book: Brooks
Olive Kittredge: Stout
Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling: Crouch
The Machievelli Covenant: Follsom
The Help: Stockett
Master and Commander: O’Brian
Artemis Fowl: Golfer
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident: Colfer
Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code: Colfer
The Way: Escriva
Change By Design: Brown
A Gate At The Stairs: Moore
Brave New World: Huxley
Thomas Jefferson: Hitchens
Outliers: Gladwell
Underworld DeDillo
Gilead: Robinson
The Lost Symbol: Brown
The Power of Half: Salwen
Monday, January 4, 2010
Fast Forgiveness For Failure...
David Brook's article on New Year's Day titled "The God That Fails" felt like one of the more "practical" ways of looking at our government's successes and failures. The gist of the article was that our government does a lot of good things, but it is not a perfect system and it is filled with human beings so there will be times where the system fails. But, then most importantly is that Brooks says that when this happens we, as the citizens of the government, should not expect perfection each time, but instead, go with the flow and understand that it is impossible for government to be infallible. Those of you who know me, know that I fervently believe that there is only One that is infallible so I carry with me maybe a more tolerant attitude towards failures of others than I should. My wife Patti has always said that I forget and forgive too quickly. She considers it constructive criticism. I consider it a compliment. I know too many people who look for the hole in the doughnut. These are the same people who don't think the glass is half-empty, they think the glass is out to kill them. They take hard stances to the left or the right when it comes to the government and they are quick to criticize when something doesn't go perfectly. This happened this last week with the Nigerian who tried to blow up the flight in Detroit. When I read about what happened, I didn't like it either. I could see why someone should be held accountable and I don't have any issue with someone losing their job over not doing their job to the standards set for them. But, what I can't accept is those that say the whole system is wrong and failing because of one mistake. As I have pointed out before, the TSA has lots and lots of problems and Janet Napiltano has not done anything that I can see to make any improvements, but the entire system is not a failure and nor would it be right to think that we won't have other issues in the future. Government can't be perfect. As long as there are people involved, it is impossible for it to be perfect. Let's try this year to be a little more forgiving and understanding as a country. Maybe if we did, we would find common solutions versus staying so opposed to each other.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Where Does The Buck Stop in California?
I read with great interest the ruling of Judge Frank Roesch regarding Governor Schwarzenegger's decision to furlough state employees to try and get control of the states over running expenses. Judge Roesch's decision overruled the Governor on multiple grounds including that the Governor "overstepped his authority by claiming the furloughs were necessary to deal with the budget emergency". As I read this, the newsprint nearly slipped from my hands, which as we all know is hard to have happen. Here is what I don't understand; there is no place in California for the buck to stop. When I elect a Governor, I do so on the basis of who I believe will be the best chief executive officer. I look at the skill set to establish a vision, determine how to establish, maintain and where necessary to raise revenue, and most importantly how to manage the business of the state so that our expenses don't outstrip our revenue. I vote for the person who I believe is the best at having the buck stop with them. But, in California it seems that the buck doesn't stop anywhere. Each time a decision is made that others don't agree with we get a judge to rule on it, we get proposition on the next ballet, or we get a special election to more quickly overturn the decision. And then we wonder why this state doesn't work. What California is missing is a lack of practical thinking. If there was practical thinking then there wouldn't be a lawsuit filed on the behalf of the service employee unions that they should be treated differently from all other employees. If the Governor has decided that furloughs are the best way to deal with our issues, then everyone needs to participate. It is not right for one group to be treated differently than others. I fear that if California doesn't reshape how it governs so that the buck has someplace to stop, there won't be any bucks to be stopped.
Friday, January 1, 2010
TSA - Please Rethink or Think!
I flew through the new T5 terminal at JFK this morning and as we started a new decade I was quickly reminded at how little distance we have covered in our ability to manage the security lines in our airports. Yes, the government is up in arms this day because of the Nigerian flier who made it to Detroit and nearly set off his explosives on that Northwestern flight, but the TSA that we experienced today was no different, or any better than they were when established in 2001. In fact, I would say because there has not been any systemic learning or standardization across airports and we have not shared and gotten better collectively, it proves that that in fact we have not gotten any better at all. Long airport security lines are a constant reminder that our government fails to figure out how to become more productive and more efficient. Why is it that this so visible symbol of a government administration isn’t given the attention necessary to improve? What holds this back? Our airports are unfriendly and have added hours to inefficiencies to our business community. The wasted productivity alone should be enough to warrant the attention of other arms of the administration. Maybe the Secretary of Commerce should weigh in and get involved! We should be embarrassed that we have minimum wage employees, who act and work like they have been salvaged from the streets, standing around, doing nothing and not adding anything to the security of the airports. Had you been with me this morning, you would have seen x-ray screeners who weren’t looking at the screens, employees standing around chatting and filing their nails while the lines were backed up for nearly an hour wait. Department of Homeland Security, please start improving something so that we can understand the value of you as overhead expense to our country, who doesn't need more expenses!
Monday, December 21, 2009
60-40...The Rope-A-Dope Vote
I stayed up with C-Span last night to watch the closing arguments and the Senate vote on cloture for the Healthcare Reform Bill. I was not surprised, but once again disappointed with the 60-40 vote. I listened to both sides say why the vote had to be 58 Democrats - 2 Independents For and 40 Republicans Against. As best I can tell from my citizen caring and citizen involved vantage point, the Republicans wanted to stall the vote because they believe that most Americans don't want this bill. What is disappointing is that they don't refute or fight on the point that in the entire time the bill has been moving they have offered only four amendments. I am sure there is some good reason for this, but from this vantage point it feels like they are so afraid that if they make contact with the bill that they are going to catch something that makes them sick. I can understand that, I just don't respect it. When in any other part of life you believe in something that strongly, then you are willing to do anything to take care of something you care about. When your child is sick and you can't get a straight answer from the doctor you don't just stop asking, you go get a second opinion and you keep going until you have the answer, even if that means you may get sick yourself. I feel like the Republicans, were afraid of what they were going to catch and gave up on this one and are now wanting to sit in the corner and say, "I told you so.". If that is the case, then what Senator McConnell said last night about this bill changing the course of our nation forever, is correct. If the 40 votes of no last night were being passive aggressive and wanting to sit back and arm-chair quarterback, then this vote may have been the end of the Republican party as we know it. What it seems has failed to dawn on the R's is that the party that I grew up with were Republicans who came with smart, well-thought out, responsible solutions. But even when they didn't have the best solutions, they always brought their ideas to the table, no matter the obstacles, the public ridicule. They were not known for sitting back and letting someone else tell them what to do. Ronald Reagan and Barry Goldwater didn't know the meaning of sitting back. Something has gone terribly wrong with American politics when the men and women who go to Washington choose to sit back versus fight for what they believe is right. Mr. McConnell, a man I have admired since I was growing up across the river from Louisville, Kentucky took a trick from his and my fellow Kentuckian, Muhammad Ali, and fought this fight with the rope-a-dope, hoping that he and his party have enough stomach strength to take all the punches and wear the other guy out. The problem with this tactic on healthcare is that no matter the cost of the bill, no matter the problems with the pork that resides in the 2000+ pages, no matter the issues that will come up down the road, in the short term it is going to feel like to working people, regular people, that they are feeling the effect of change in Washington and getting much needed healthcare coverage reform. And while, I do agree with the Republicans that there is too much spending, too many side-deals, federal spending on abortion, etc. that are hard to live with, let's also not forget that the bill does not have a public option plan in it and many other concessions that if they had been at the table, instead of under it, they could be talking about what they influenced and what they could still influence going forward. I am afraid, Mr. McConnell, that the 40 Rope-A-Dope Vote this time just won't work for the whole fight.
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