The Visionary versus the Manager

As you listen to Obama and Clinton (at least as I listen to them), this is the sense I get. Hillary knows a lot of stuff. I think she stays up late at night reading policy briefings. She seems like the type of person that wants to get into the mechanics of things and tinker with them. I expect she'll be very hands on if she becomes President. My fear is that she's also the type who can't see the forest because of the trees. She's so caught up in the minutae that she can't see the broader picture. I could be wrong, but that's the sense I get from the way she talks.
Barack Obama knows his stuff too, but I don't think he stays up into the wee hours of the morning reading policy briefings. I believe he'll be much more hands on than either GW or Ronald Reagan, but at the same time I believe that his strengths are the strengths we need right now -- and they are these: 1) The ability to organize coalitions of people around a cause; 2) Envision a new world. Obama is the visionary, and as a visionary he's able to bring about change and transformation.
Maybe another way to put it is this: the choice is between a manager and a leader. I think we need a leader. I believe that Barack Obama will surround himself with competent people, advisors and managers who will help him bring about the change we need. Perhaps that person will be the VP he chooses (I don't think it will be Hillary, but it could very well be a woman). So the choice stands before us, which way will we go?

Comments

In some ways, this primary season is really a referendum on the future direction of the Democratic Party that is not unlike the struggles that take place in old, dying churches when a young visionary pastor is hired. On one hand, there are the traditionalists who insist on keeping things just they way they are because "this is the way we've always done it." On the other, there are those that recognize that serious reform and change needs to take place to reenergize the party (or church) and bring new people in or else it will die.

If Democrats nominate Hillary, then party business will continue as usual and she will either (1) lose the election or (2) have an uninspiring first term of office before being voted out. Obama, if nominated, will not only be elected but will change the direction of the nation and his party in a way that we haven't seen since FDR.

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