Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from death throes, has a
new book, and here are some excerpts........
"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where
the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang
of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate
gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less
build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their
heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course"
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned
Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I
have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The
President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our
phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits
by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most
famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While
we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to
do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not
the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had
enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This
is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
The Biggest C is Crisis
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy
to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's
kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead
when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other
time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where
was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when
he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled
look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking
the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure
the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White
House. He basically went into hiding for the day, and he told Vice President Dick
Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of
our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there
was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the
right photo op at Ground Zero.
That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what
did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq; a
road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush
didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being
faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you, I don't know
what will.
new book, and here are some excerpts........
"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where
the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang
of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate
gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less
build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their
heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course"
Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned
Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!
You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I
have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The
President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our
phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits
by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most
famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While
we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to
do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not
the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had
enough. How about you?
I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This
is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
The Biggest C is Crisis
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy
to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's
kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead
when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other
time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where
was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when
he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled
look on his face. It's all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking
the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure
the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn't safe to return to the White
House. He basically went into hiding for the day, and he told Vice President Dick
Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of
our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there
was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the
right photo op at Ground Zero.
That was George Bush's moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what
did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq; a
road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush
didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being
faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you, I don't know
what will.
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| Set 010i: Lee Iacocca: Where Have All the Leaders Gone? received from Mark Jeng |
A Hell of a Mess
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for
winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the
country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great
companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are
skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in
trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every
which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders
gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of
character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a
sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making
us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions
of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to
things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane
Katrina.Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the
crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it
doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a
plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there
could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies?
How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the
debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence
is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and
milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses
and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our
greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of?That
some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't
you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a
fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've
had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also
experienced some of our worst crises: the Great Depression, World War II, the
Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and
the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this:
You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to
take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our
children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a
call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's
getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em all
we've had enough."
Excerpted from Where Have All the Leaders Gone? Copyright © 2007 by Lee
Iacocca. All rights reserved.
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for
winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the
country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great
companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are
skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in
trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every
which way. These are times that cry out for leadership.
But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders
gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of
character, courage, conviction, competence, and common sense? I may be a
sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making
us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions
of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to
things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane
Katrina.Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the
crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it
doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a
plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there
could ever be a time when "the Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies?
How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the
debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence
is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and
milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses
and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our
greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of?That
some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't
you guys show some spine for a change?
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a
fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope. I believe in America. In my lifetime I've
had the privilege of living through some of America's greatest moments. I've also
experienced some of our worst crises: the Great Depression, World War II, the
Korean War, the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, the 1970s oil crisis, and
the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this:
You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to
take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our
children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a
call to action for people who, like me, believe in America. It's not too late, but it's
getting pretty close. So let's shake off the horseshit and go to work. Let's tell 'em all
we've had enough."
Excerpted from Where Have All the Leaders Gone? Copyright © 2007 by Lee
Iacocca. All rights reserved.
