Posted on 05/25/2009 11:46:18 PM PDT by Aria
ADMIRAL Mike Mullen has some unusual credentials for the highest ranking military officer in the US.
The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff is the son of a Hollywood spin doctor who was press agent for some big-name movie stars in the 1960s.
Mullen says his father taught him the art of crafting a message, though it didn't seem much help at the US Naval Academy where, in 1968, he graduated 611th out of 836.
As a young lieutenant four years later, Mullen was given command of the gasoline tanker USS Noxubee. He promptly ran it into a buoy, damaging the ship's port propeller, not to mention his career prospects.
To his credit, Mullen knuckled down and made a point of saying the right thing at the right time for the next 35 years.
It paid off in 2007 when Defence Secretary Robert Gates, looking to nominate someone for the post of JCS chairman in the Bush administration, took to asking candidates about their top military concerns.
Mullen cited the strains on US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and won the job. "He didn't start talking about a new aircraft carrier or a submarine," Mr Gates said. "He said 'the army'."
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
Unbelievable! no....wait...it's unfortunately believable...
The only thing that gives me hope is that Obama is stupid as well as evil.
My God, he sounds like Jimmy Carter's (illegimate) son. I wonder if he really said something that dumb-that's the kind of rhetoric politicians usually avoid because nine time out of ten it comes back to bite you in the ass.
self confidence is a bad choice of word, its arrogance, hubris, elitism
Too little noted: Joe Califano’s account of how people (rubes) would come in and present their concerns to Jimmy Carter. All during their meetings, Carter would write notes on a legal pad. The moment they left the Oval Office, the pages of notes went in the wastebasket.
Oh, and everyone in the Carter White House knew it was pointless to offer Jimmy advice, or to disagree with him, unless you wanted to get a tongue-lashing.
dare we say audacity? or mendacity?
For someone who talks about himself constantly, Obama has a shockingly low level of self-awareness. He’s deluded about himself. He has created this character called “Barack Obama,” and now he believes it represents the actual person.
President Carter micromanaged to the point of handling the schedule for the White House tennis courts, IIRC. If Junior tries that he’ll have a stroke in six months. Remember, Mr. Carter was a nuclear submariner under Admiral Hyman Rickover, reputed to be the hardest taskmaster in U.S. military history, with the possible exceptions of Generals McArthur, Von Stueben, Patton and Pershing and Admiral Halsey.
Yeah, kind of his version of ‘the buck stops here”, only he always passes the buck (or it’s “above his pay grade”) when he can’t emerge as perfection on something. If he’s the smartest cookie in the jar, then can we assume that he’ll take full credit, and blame, for all his decisions?
Hubris and incompetence.
It's going to be a long four years.
Sociopaths always take full credit, never take full blame except rhetorically.
There is nothing so sad and deluded as a man who believes his own press (projected self image)
I actually cringe now when I hear him in ANY situation bringing up his old man who came here as an immigrant. Give it a rest, already, you got the job.
Amazing. Anyone who has even the slightest empathy would know never to say something like that even if were true because people hate that kind of arrogance. Plus all you do when you make statements like that is paint a big fat target on yourself.
bump
Mendacity!
Obama has done NOTHING to generate that kind of self confidence, Narcissism is the best description I believe!
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