Posted on 09/01/2014 11:10:24 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Some time ago I contrasted the reaction a conservative would get if he were in the same room with the two most consequential politicians of the 1990s, Bill Clinton and Rudy Giuliani.
If you were in a room with Bill Clinton, he would discover the one issue out of 100 on which you agreed; he would probe you with questions, comments, suggestions; and he would tell you that you enabled him to understand it far better than he ever had before.
If you were in a room with Rudy Giuliani, he would discover the one issue out of 100 on which you disagreed; he would ask pointed questions and pepper you with objections; he would tell you that you are wrong on the facts and wrong on the law, and that you needed to admit you were utterly mistaken.
The difference is partly a matter of personality and temperament, and of regional style: Southern affability, New York prickliness.
But theres also an underlying similarity. Both Clinton and Giuliani are always curious about what others people think, determined to probe beneath the surface to understand what they really care about, sensitive to find areas of both agreement and disagreement.
Theyre good at reading people, an essential quality for an executive and especially for a president. Recent presidents have had that quality in varying degrees.
Clinton, as indicated, has an immense desire to win people over. Daniel Halpers bestselling Clinton, Inc., shows how he went about winning the affection and respect of the Bush family.
The two Presidents George Bush, aware that presidents have the greatest leeway in foreign affairs, both devoted immense psychic energy in establishing relationships with foreign leaders.
George W. Bush admits in his memoir Decision Points that he initially misjudged Vladimir Putin. But he established close personal rapport with leaders from wildly different backgrounds, from British Prime Minister Tony Blair to Brazilian President Lula da Silva.
As for George H. W. Bush, just about everyone now recognizes the brilliance of his diplomacy in response to the invasion of Iraq and the breakup of the Soviet Union. That diplomacy depended on shrewd reading and handling of literally dozens of foreign leaders.
The seemingly aloof Ronald Reagan developed his capacity to understand negotiating partners, as his definitive biographer Lou Cannon made clear, when he was president of the Screen Actors Guild negotiating with studio bosses.
Reagan deployed that ability in establishing productive relations with allies such as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, with whom he was by no means always in agreement, and with adversaries like Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whose character, strengths, and weaknesses he shrewdly assessed.
The ability to read other people comes more easily if youre interested in others, curious to learn what makes them tick. It comes harder or not at all if youre transfixed with your image of yourself.
Which seems to be the case with Barack Obama. Not only is he not much interested in the details of public policy, as Jay Cost argues persuasively in a recent article for the Weekly Standard. He is also, as even his admirers concede, not much inclined to schmooze with other politicians, even his fellow Democrats.
That goes double for Republicans. House Speaker Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, is one of the most transparent and least guileful politicians Ive encountered. The late Sen. Edward Kennedy and liberal Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., had no difficulty reaching agreement with him on the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act.
But Obama has gotten nowhere with him. The president blew up the 2011 grand bargain negotiations by raising the ante late in the game; later budget agreements were left to Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Obama has taken to explaining Republican opposition as the result of fever or mental delusion.
Obama is also known to have frosty relations with most foreign leaders. He used to claim to be close to Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan. That hasnt prevented Erdogan from sidling up to the Muslim Brotherhood and exhibiting blatant anti-semitism.
Obama critics have pointed out his fondness for the first person singular. He said I, me, or my 63 times in his 1,631-word eulogy for Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye. He spoke twice as long about his own family experiences as the heroism for which Inouye was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Bill Clinton and Rudy Giuliani succeeded in large part because they were curious about other people different from themselves. Barack Obama prefers to look in the mirror.
Look at who he married and whom he surrounded himself with.
I am not saying he was a horrible guy. Just part of the “elite”. He probably wasn’t a jerk to the “help.” He just didn’t want to hang out with them.
“Maybe he got that from the Popes elevation of security (peace) over (other peoples) freedom. Its the same philosophy of appeasement.”...
If you are referring to the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1989, I don’t think Pope JPII was in an appeasing mood where the people of eastern Europe were concerned, especially his beloved Poland.
When statements are made, they need to refer to the time and the place of the events and the subject matter.
I am thinking of a time later than the breakup of the USSR, although the temporal context eludes me. The Pope de jour criticized some group agitating for freedom as he sat perfectly free in the Vatican.
Bill Clark was a close family friend of ours since 1972. I miss him.
Some points of disagreement: Clinton’s affability, and desire to win people over. It’s faked, and based on his desire to be worshipped. If “affability” didn’t work, he’d ditch it. It’s a version of the seduction he unleashes on chicks.
The heroism for which Inouye was awarded the Medal of Honor. No, he was awarded the DSC for his heroism. The MoH was a political deal with Clinton, who never did a favor that wasn’t based on his own self-interest (see “affability” above).
LOL!! THAT is my Favorite Picture of the Messiah!!! Please post that on EVERY Obama thread just because there are so many new Freepers!!! PLEASE???
Hey Newbie....take your anti-Catholicism back to DU.
Bill Clinton understood that. Whether Hillary does may make the difference in 2016.
I said the same thing to hubby when I read that part.
If you had ever met him in an informal setting, you would have found him warm and engaging.
I met Bush the elder, and he was like meeting the CEO of a large company. He was nice enough.
I’ve met sports stars and movie stars through my job. Nice enough all around. But all of them were so happy to leave.
Maybe it was me.
It sounds like he was a fine man. You are fortunate to have known him.
He doesn’t schmooze because he doesn’t want to reveal his homosexuality.
Reagan knew how to charm people. He made people feel comfortable when he was with them. He had a reputation for turning enemies into friends.
He kept his distance from people and didn’t have a lot of close friends (most had died by the time he was in office), but was known for an affable character that drew people to him as someone they could trust.
He took time out of his day to talk to the enlisted & junior officers on White House duty, which I very much doubt Mr. Obama does. I will say, though, that President Carter wasn’t too aloof, either, compared to some.
Everyone in the Beltway that matters is already very aware of that feature of his personality, and a lot that don’t.
Barack Obama prefers to look in the mirror
After President Reagan left Office he spent most days in his Century City Office.
My B-I-L ran a Picture Framing Shop near Century City. One Day, President Reagan’s Office Manager came in to have some Pictures Framed to hang in the President’s Office and at the Reagan Ranch.
She came back a few times and then asked by B-I-L if he would mind coming in to the Office with some samples to show the President. It seemed that President Reagan wanted to make the choices himself rather than depending on his Staff to make the decisions.
My B-I-L jumped at the chance. As it ended up, he visited with the President at least once a Month. Needless to say, they did not just discuss what Picture Frames the President liked. They became very friendly. My B-I-L is the most non-political guy out there and to this day he has no idea how envious I am of him. He tells me that President Reagan was one of the nicest people he has ever known.
Now, the rest of the story. When my B-I-L’s Father was about to turn 80, my B-I-L wanted to do something special for him. The President’s Assistant arranged for his Father to meet the President after Business hours at the Century City Office.
On the arranged date, my B-I-L told his Father that he would be taking him and his Mother to Dinner. He took them to the Office Building and they met President Reagan’s Assistant in the Lobby. His Father was a bit confused but the thought this must be something special his Son had set up with what he figured was a Restaurant on the Top Floor. The Assistant didn’t let on and she took the three of them to a Private Elevator.
When the Elevator Door opened at the Office floor, there stood the President. My B-I-L thought his Father was going to faint when he realized who it was. The President greeted them warmly and took them on a tour of the Office. While my B-I-L and his Mother occupied themselves, his Father and the President spoke for a half hour or so, gazing at the City Views.
My B-I-L’s Father spoke of the time he spent with President Reagan until his dying day.
In this instance and the other times he spent with my B-I-L, President Reagan enjoyed hanging out with the “Little People”, simply because he never thought they were.
He was everything that phony lying SOB Obama isn’t.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.