Sunday, March 22, 2009

LEADERSHIP: COACH K GOT IT RIGHT


photo from Coach K website
from the blog The Real World

Coach K is one hundred percent correct. The President needs to focus on what is important to the nation and stop screwing around. Obama's job is to protect the United States of America, not act like a frat boy on spring break.

Leadership carries with it responsibilities. That is something Coach K would have learned early on as a cadet at West Point. It is most certainly something he has repeatedly demonstrated in the highly competitive arena of intercollegiate athletics. Not to mention the Olympic level of international competition where winning is everything and the only thing.

Being trained as an attorney, as Obama was, as well as serving as a collaborative community organizer provides him with a background that is unrelated to being the decision maker. Serving in the United States Senate, where you are one among one hundred equals, dictated that he learn to accommodate to get along. Again, that is not preparation to lead. It is why he is one of only three people ever elected to the presidency from the Senate. Hopefully he will be the last.

As President, Obama has repeatedly demonstrated that leading is not his forte. This example is one among many and it was bound to raise the hackles of someone like Coach K who well knows the requirements of leadership and, at the same time, is active in the NCAA tournament mix. Coach K does not spend his time finding a fix for our broken economy. The President should not spend one second of his time on March Madness. Leaders focus. They know the jack of all trades is the master of none.

But we also see this in other manifestations. The gaffe about Special Olympics. The comments about the stock market. A Presidential appearance on a TV late night talk show. Preaching belt tightening to the public while hosting lavish White House parties. Talking out of both sides of his mouth about the fundamentals of the economy. And that list goes on. All in less than 60 days in office.

Like Coach K, more Americans of note should publicly call the President on his leadership failures. It really is well past time for Obama to grow into the office. It is not about him any longer, it is about the nation. That is always difficult for those on the hard left to grasp since, in their warped world, the ends always justify the means and the ends are always self-serving. While Obama basks in the bright light of celebrity, the country founders.

As Coach K demonstrated in this instance, leaders have the courage of their convictions. They will stand up for what they believe is right and what benefits the greater good. The President could learn something valuable here but the likely reaction, if this White House stays in character, will be to belittle and attack the critic. That is not what leadership is about but it is the track record of this administration to date.

If all is right in the universe, Coach K's Duke Blue Devils will win the NCAA title (not likely) and thereafter be invited to the White House. At the end of the day, Coach K is a teacher. Rookie Obama would demonstrate wisdom to listen and learn. Is he smart enough to understand that truth? It would be a real treat to be a fly on the wall for that meeting.
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