President Joe Biden just gave a master class in “How To Be A Leader”, and another in “How To Lead”. Circumstances in the Middle East are pitched at a full boil. Israel is a war zone yet Biden 1) kept to his diplomatic mission despite the fact that all the Arab sides canceled on him, 2) ignored the political risks and focused instead on the humanitarian side of the ledger, 3) flew back into a war zone and 4) delivered a clear message about where America stands and why.
Hamas Isn’t “Leadership”
Hamas knew pretty quickly that the rocket that fell on Ahli Arab Hospital came from their side of the border. The truth didn’t matter. They put out the lie that Israel did it, knowing that lies are easy to spread whereas the truth… The worst part of this is that 450 Palestinians are dead – each one a tragedy – and Hamas is using them cynically still. Hiding behind them like cowards.
Hamas hides under hospitals, too.
The Palestinians are unfortunate prisoners of history, Israeli fear of their birth rate and a lack of love from most if not all Arab states. The sooner Palestine becomes a viable state where all of its residents are living comfortable middle class lives, unworried about their children’s future, the sooner Israel will get to live in peace.
That also was part of Joe Biden’s message to Israel.
“Speak Quietly…”
I suspect Joe’s been pitching that message to them from the moment this awfulness started. For a week now, the world’s been waiting for Israel to launch an all out land-air-sea assault on the Gaza Strip. Yet, the IDF still sits at the border, its motor running.
Why?
I bet Biden has been working the phones hard, keeping all lines of communication open. More importantly, I bet Biden’s been counseling Israel to make the most measured response possible.
“Feel the rage” Biden advised Israelis, know its righteousness. “But don’t be consumed by it”. That’s the key.
It’s the sort of thing a leader would advise even if he was advising people not his own.
Leadership Across The Aisle
What does “leadership look like across the aisle?
It looks like this vile, orange orangutan turd.
Trump is to leadership what cancer is to a healthy cell. Corruption that leads to death.
Spinelessness As Performance Art
Kevin McCarthy was not and is not what leadership looks like. Neither is Steve Scalise or Jim Jordan or any of the other right wing hacks filling the GOP’s bench. McCarthy betrayed America early on.
Back in 2016, McCarthy famously exited a meeting where he learned that Putin was actively engaged in undermining Ukraine’s fragile, new democracy and then entered a second meeting where he insisted “There’s two people I think Putin pays – Rohrbacher and Trump – swear to God!” That wasn’t a strange thing to say about California Representative Dana Rohrbacher.
Everyone knew Rohrbacher was dirty – allied with a hostile foreign power against America. But, Trump? McCarthy lumping Trump with Rohrbacher should have caused an uproar in the second meeting. They might as well have called Trump a traitor. In essence, they did.
No one present – Republican leaders all – questioned McCarthy. Or doubted the veracity of his statement. No one stood up for Trump. Or called the FBI. Instead, then Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan stepped forward – exhibiting what Republicans call “leadership”. Ryan told the rest of the Republican leadership to “keep the conversation private, saying: ‘No leaks. . . . This is how we know we’re a real family here’.”
Leadership Would NEVER Look Like This
Ohio’s sexual assault enabler – Jim Jordan just lost his third shot at becoming Speaker Of The House. This is Jim’s version of leadership –
The stone cold fact is, no one who puts an “R” next to their name can claim to be any sort of “leader”. How could they when they think Donald Trump is their leader?