Obama '08?

Obama's lack of understanding exposed again
Thomas Lifson
Dean Barnett noticed a stunning level of ignorance by Barack Obama about the command structure he seeks to head as commander-in-chief and blogged about it at The Weekly Standard.

When Obama held his second press conference late last week to address his ever more slippery position on withdrawing troops from Iraq, he stated:

"I am absolutely committed to ending the war," the longtime community organizer declared. "I will call my Joint Chiefs of Staff in and give them a new assignment and that is to end the war."

Barnett explains well the role of Joint Chefs as a staff unit, which provides advice to the commander-in-chief. In order to avoid conflicts within their respective services and provide clear advice, the joint chiefs are by law excluded from the command structure. The command structure (what is called the "line" part of the organization in corporate organizations) consists of people like General Petraeus, who actually run the military organization through its structure of commands. Barnett comments sarcastically:

Surely Obama knows this. Obviously he wouldn't be seeking the role of Commander-in-Chief without knowing how the job is done.

Obama has such a naive view of running organizations that he doesn't appreciate way they actually work. Just call in the guys with braids on their uniforms and give orders.

The problem goes well beyond the specifics of the basics of the military command structure. Obama has no leadership experience in large organizations whatsoever. He doesn't even know what questions an incoming executive should ask, in order to formulate effective policies.

There are serious and important benefits (as well as pitfalls) to a line/staff division of labor in business and a command/staff division in the military. People who have actually run serious organizations and accomplished something know all about working both sides of the organizational apparatus, avoiding the downsides while maximizing the effectiveness of the various tools at the leader's disposal.

Actual experience leading, changing, and accomplishing goals in large organizations ought to be an informal prerequisite for presidential candidates. John McCain hasn't run a large organization, but at least he has been a military leader, responsible for the Navy's largest squadron at the time.

Obama's understanding of the intricacies of management reflects the shallowness of a man who has gathered resume items without ever accomplishing much as a community organizer, lawyer, state senator, and US Senator. Such people tend to get into real trouble when they arrive in a job where responsibility cannot so easily be sloughed off on others after moving on to a higher position.

Obama is again and again demonstrating that he doesn't know very much at all of about the serious matter of state. Just looking and sounding good enough to garner votes seems to be the limit of his aims. Preparation for actually being president is an afterthought.

George Walker Bush flip flops:

I'm a uniter, not a divider.
I'm a compassionate conservative.
When we do wiretaps, we get FISA approval.
We'll leave Iraq when they ask us to leave.


http://www.50bushflipflops.com/Introduction/home.html

And one of his father's famous flip flops: "read my lips, no new taxes."

Yeah, okie, blame everything on the democrats. You are ignorant.

okie wrote: Besides, you like higher taxes, so whats the beef?


Please show me where I said "I like higher taxes?" Otherwise, go to hell.

cicerone imposter wrote:

They're juggling their books a little better than Bush.

Do you really believe that the dems can handle the finances of the entire country if they cant even handle the finances for their own convention?

teenyboone wrote:

okie wrote:

teenyboone wrote:

okie wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:

'Told who to vote for?'

You presume knowledge where you have none, Fox. How do you know these people are told who to vote for? Or that they actually vote for these people, once in the booth?

It's just another tired Republican trope, oft repeated but little verified.

FD is right - you don't know what you are talking about, in the slightest. I've done plenty of voter registration work myself, much of it in what would accurately be described as slums and ghettos, and we never told anyone who to vote for, ever. In fact, we weren't legally allowed to even talk about it with them unless they asked us direct questions about the candidate, iirc.

Cycloptichorn

Did you ask for ID's cyclops, and did you verify if they were already registered either there or somewhere else? How did you know you didn't sign up a bunch of people illegally? Or did you care?

In my precinct, you walk up to the registrar, state your name and that's it!
If you are registered, your name is in the book! Anything else is illegal!
If your name has been deleted, you can ask for a provisional ballot! That's it! Apparently no one has asked YOU to verify YOURSELF, so why should anyone else be asked? You've got a lot of nerve! These are the tactics used by "Jim Crow", throughout the South, before the Voting Rights Act was passed!

I wasn't referring to voting, I was referring to becoming registered to vote. It has been a long time since I registered, but I think I had to provide an I.D. to prove I was who I said I was, and that I was a resident of the county. Sheesh, what is so terrible about that, and unreasonable?

And providing I.D. to vote is not a bad idea as well, to show you are the person on the voter registration rolls.

#1 - You need to read the damn Constitution, then
#2 - Read the fricking Bill of Rights!

Are you so cowed that you don't know what your rights as a citizen are? Do you care? What a fool! Did you know that you can't be arrested for no reason or to be stopped for no reason? Cops are so corrupt until, they become judge and jury, while they kill people while in police custody!

Do you read the newspapers and have you heard of police brutality? That's YOUR tax dollars at work, while the "protect and serve", do everything BUT! They think they're above the law in New York. When guiliani was the mayor, the cops had tee-shirts that said, "We OWN the night", then pumped 41 bullets into an African, reaching for his wallet to ID himself and the cops claimed they thought his wallet was a gun!

Guilani and Bernard Kerik, 2 crooks with badges; "Perfect together", as we say in Jersey! Bernard Kerik; nominated for the Homeland Security chief, until they found out that he was involved in a shady "pay for play" scheme! The son of a prostitute and a philanderer! Guiliani hates Italians so much, he broke up the mafia, he was born into!

You need to read more. These are but 2 horror stories of the many that make up the NY/NJ area. If you can make it here, you can make it, anywhere!

Teeny, what does Guiliani have to do with our discussion about verifying the person voting is registered or is actually a citizen or actually resides where that person is voting? Good grief! Get a life!