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McCain says leadership trumps management skills
Boston Globe ^ | 12/31/07 | Holly Ramer (AP)

Posted on 01/01/2008 5:32:21 PM PST by Norman Bates

LONDONDERRY, N.H.—Republican presidential contender John McCain told voters Monday that the nation needs a leader, not a manager.

The comment was directed at former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whom McCain is close to surpassing heading into the final week before the New Hampshire primary.

Though he didn't name names, McCain clearly had Romney in mind when he faced a voter who noted that few senators have been elected president and quizzed him about his executive and administrative experience. Romney, a former venture capitalist, often points to his management of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics as an example of his executive skills.

"I spent 22 years in the United States Navy. I led -- not managed -- I led the largest squadron in the United State Navy, over a thousand people and hundreds of millions in assets," McCain said. "I'll put my leadership -- not management -- but leadership credentials up against anybody's."

McCain said given the challenges the nation faces, particularly fighting terrorism overseas, now is no time for on the job training.

"I think it's fine to have been a governor, I think it's fine to have been a mayor, but I've been involved, and you judge me by my record, in every national security issue and challenge facing this country for the last 20 years," he said.

With most of his rivals in Iowa, McCain has spent the last four days in New Hampshire and will be here for most of next week as he tries to slingshot his campaign forward. He won the state in 2000 by 19 percentage points over then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush and now hopes his scrappy campaign can again defeat a well-funded rival, this time Romney.

(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections; US: New Hampshire
KEYWORDS: 2008; mccain
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To: GOP_Lady

“To me, management and leadership are one-in-the-same. Anyone else agree?”

In my opinion management has two components: leadership and administration.
In a President, leadership is much more important than administration, since you can hire other people to administer. A President can’t hire someone else to lead, if they aren’t able to themselves.


41 posted on 01/01/2008 6:37:25 PM PST by devere
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To: Norman Bates

Excellent post, it’s easy to see why John McCain is rising in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire.


42 posted on 01/01/2008 6:40:29 PM PST by Veronica Mars
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To: Veronica Mars

How’s that?


43 posted on 01/01/2008 6:41:15 PM PST by Checkers (First they came for the Mormons, but I said nothing because I was not Mormon.)
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To: RKV

“Here are five important issues I think Fred kicks McCain”

I agree with you. Fred is a leader who will lead us in the right direction.

John is a leader who wants to go in several wrong directions, and drag all of us with him.

Go Fred!


44 posted on 01/01/2008 6:44:42 PM PST by devere
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To: GOP_Lady

To me, management and leadership are one-in-the-same. Anyone else agree?

You got it, Lady :-)...What in the world is he thinking?...He will be the leader and just snap his fingers and his real ‘managers’ will spring into action ?...like- how would he ‘manage’ the 11 million illegals he would let in ?...and how do you micro-mamage campaign contributions ?...you need a great big microscope for that...I like McCain but he does and says some real goofy things...The MSM would make mincemeat of him...


45 posted on 01/01/2008 6:44:46 PM PST by billmor (MSMDS= .Main Stream Media Derangement Syndrome. .causes extreme stupidity)
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To: devere
It seems as though Fred, Duncan, Mitt, or Rudy might all be slightly better than John on GWOT.

Rudy shouldn't be included in that list. Why would a draft-dodging coward be effective on GWOT?

46 posted on 01/01/2008 6:45:29 PM PST by tear gas (Because of the 22nd Amendment, we are losing President. Bush. Can we afford to lose him now?)
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To: RKV
The critical issues of this election as I see it are the GWOT, fiscal responsibility, and judges

You are wrong. but what else is new.

Clearly I was stating an opinion so I am not "wrong." I think that the vast majority of our fellow FReepers would see those three issues as major issues for 2008. I predicted Bush's re-election victory to within 2/10ths of a percent of his popular tally and one state - so not to flaunt - but I'm confident in my analytical thought.

There are quite a few more important issues out there.

I don't mind hearing your opinion (which is not wrong because I may disagree with it). Name them.

We need someone like Fred who can handle more than that.

I never said that's all McCain (or any other candidate for that matter) could handle, so that's a silly thing to say.
47 posted on 01/01/2008 6:46:17 PM PST by Norman Bates
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To: Checkers

McCain is the candidate for those concerned with winning the War on Terror, bringing fiscal restraint back to Washington, appointing conservative judges to the Supreme Court, and for those looking for a candidate that knows where he stands on the issues. That’s why McCain is on the rise.


48 posted on 01/01/2008 6:46:17 PM PST by Veronica Mars
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To: Laserman
John McCain is NO leader. He is an opportunist of the worst kind. I would NEVER vote for him. And that is saying a lot for a lifelong Republican!

That's as good a description of John McCain as I've seen. He caused me to do something I never wanted to do, vote Libertarin, every time he runs for re-election.

49 posted on 01/01/2008 6:47:53 PM PST by c-b 1 (Reporting from behind enemy lines, in occupied AZTLAN.)
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To: Norman Bates
McCain says leadership trumps management skills

IMHO, "leadership" is a SUBSET (part) of "Management".

I respect McCain for all he did in military service.
Even for some of his service in the US Senate.

But with his stance on "comprehensive immigration reform",
he FLUNKED the "leadership" test.
Otherwise he'd have been able to put forward a CLEAR and CONVINCING
argument in favor of that "comprehensive immigration reform".
(which surely was just a "citizenship for illegals invaders" bill.)

If he'd been a REAL Leader, ILLEGAL immigration wouldn't even
be an issue today.
And I'd say that for all the advocates of "comprehensive immigration
reform"...Democrat OR Republican, like Brownback and Dubya.
50 posted on 01/01/2008 6:48:02 PM PST by VOA
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To: don-o
I am not about to explain to fellow conservatives the difference between managing as President of the United States and leading.
51 posted on 01/01/2008 6:48:15 PM PST by Norman Bates
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To: Coldwater Creek

Forgive me but if that’s all you got it sounds like you are fishing for excuses.


52 posted on 01/01/2008 6:51:22 PM PST by Norman Bates
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To: Veronica Mars

Well said!


53 posted on 01/01/2008 6:51:56 PM PST by Norman Bates
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To: tear gas

“Rudy shouldn’t be included in that list. Why would a draft-dodging coward be effective on GWOT?”

Rudy dodged the draft?


54 posted on 01/01/2008 6:52:56 PM PST by Checkers (First they came for the Mormons, but I said nothing because I was not Mormon.)
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To: Norman Bates
I am not about to explain to fellow conservatives the difference between managing as President of the United States and leading.

All righty then,

That speaks volumes.

55 posted on 01/01/2008 6:56:50 PM PST by don-o (Do the RIGHT thing. Become a monthly donor. End Freepathons forever)
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To: Checkers
Rudy dodged the draft?

Yes, Checkers, you're right. Rudy dodged the draft.

Here's just some of the details:

http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/30661/

Rudy also used the remains of 9/11 victims to fill pot holes. He's a sick man.

56 posted on 01/01/2008 6:57:17 PM PST by tear gas (Because of the 22nd Amendment, we are losing President. Bush. Can we afford to lose him now?)
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To: Veronica Mars

“McCain is the candidate for those concerned with winning the War on Terror,”

Are you saying Romney and Rudy don’t want to win the War? Sorry, I don’t believe you. McCain does not to waterboard.
McCain wants to shut down Gitmo.

“bringing fiscal restraint back to Washington”

Talk is cheap. What has McCain done in Congress to bring fiscal restraint to Washington? What do you mean by “back”?

“appointing conservative judges to the Supreme Court”

Do you really think McCain would appoint Judges who would throw out McCain-Feingold?


57 posted on 01/01/2008 7:02:36 PM PST by Checkers (First they came for the Mormons, but I said nothing because I was not Mormon.)
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To: Checkers
Who was Charles Keating?

First Charles Keating was a conservative.

OK, we know from this he was a bad dude.

He was a lawyer.

He was a really bad dude.

He was a banker.

A scumbag pure and simple.

He was a Catholic.

The debbil hisself to every liberal.

He was a devout and doctrinaire Catholic.

Pure evil.

He was a real estate developer.

The Gates of Hell have opened and vomited this foul creature into our midst.

He was an anti-porn crusader.

OK, that does it for me. I like boobies. Big 'uns, little 'uns, in-between 'uns. CHARLES KEATING DON'T LIKE BOOBIES!

He was a philanthropist.

I think that means he collected stamps.

He gave a million dollars to Mother Theresa.

Mama Who?

How did Keating and McCain become intertwined? Keating developed higher end residential neighborhoods in Arizona. McCain married an Arizona heiress. Both were fairly new to Arizona and gravitated to Republican politics. They were an odd couple but most of Arizona's conservative politics is an odd amalgamation. Keating sought influence and sponsored the ambitious McCain. The rakish McCain accepted the sponsorship of the prudish Keating because they both had a common conservative pro-business agenda. Keating was known as a tough SOB to work for but his reputation for honesty was impeccable. Keating demanded that every employee's desk be completely cleared before the employee could go home at night. God help you if you left a file, a memo, or a reminder note on the top of your desk. There would be hell to pay.

In 1984 the company that Keating worked for, American Continental, bought Lincoln Savings and Loan. S&L's had been regulated into a corner. The were restricted on what they could charge and what types of loans they could make. When the inflation of the Carter years hit, they were dropping like flies. Starting in the Carter years and continuing under Reagan deregegulation was attempted to make them profitable again. They were allowed to take ownership positions in projects that they financed and many were making very speculative and risky investments. Keating was building the Phoenician, a very high end resort and was selling securities to finance it. The securities were sold out of Lincoln but from tables in the lobbies, not by the institution. The securities paid a higher than normal rate of return. It was in the paperwork that the securities were not backed by the FSLIC but the salespeople did not go out of their way to point it out and, in a few cases, concealed it.

In 1986 tax laws were changed which made commercial real estate a much less desirable form of investment. Values collapsed. More S&L's fell. Lincoln was one of the biggest to fall even though Alan Greenspan had given it a clean bill of health. They had been under investigation for eighteen months to two years when McCain, at the behest of Keating, had two meetings with regulators asking that they charge him or get off his back. When McCain found out that criminal referrals were likely, he removed himself completely from the process.

Keating was charged with fraud for not aggressively disclosing that the securities were not FSLIC backed. He was convicted on several counts but all were eventually thrown out except for one, which he pled to, of bankruptcy fraud for taking $1 million out of Continental when it was obvious that everything was going to collapse. He also lost several very, very large civil suits by people who had lost money.

Five Senators, Cranston, Reigel, McCain, DeConcinni and Glenn were investigated. Glenn and McCain were judged the least culpable, guilty only of poor judgement. McCain was exonerated. This is what the Select Committee had to say:

"Based on the evidence available to it, the Committee has given consideration to Senator McCain's actions on behalf of Lincoln. The Committee concludes that, given the personal benefits and campaign contributions he had received from Mr. Keating, Senator McCain exercised poor judgment in intervening with the regulators without first inquiring as to the Bank Board's position in the case in a more routine manner. The Committee concludes that Senator McCain's actions were not improper nor attended with gross negligence and did not reach the level of requiring institutional action against him. The Committee finds that Senator McCain took no further action after the April 9, 1987 meeting when he learned of a criminal referral.

Investors lost millions. Taxpayers lost millions. The properties involved were sold for pennies on the dollar. Keating's projects were very viable and even visionary in a normal market. If Lincoln and Continental had survived the current value of the properties would be far more than enough to make everyone whole. Instead, they were given away at fire sale prices.

Charles Keating was a good man who took some ethical shortcuts at the wrong place and time.

58 posted on 01/01/2008 7:05:00 PM PST by MARTIAL MONK
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To: Checkers; RKV
"Yeah John, you led yourself right into taking money from Keating."

Acquitted.

"You led yourself dead smack against the 1st and 2nd Amendments to our Constitution."

It can certainly be argued that Congress has the authority to regulate elections. Further if CFR is so problematic why did Bush sign it, Thompson navigate it through committee, and Romney and Giuliani (then) support it? That list reads like an all-star lineup of the GOP heavy hitters.

Unless requiring sale of trigger locks, instant background checks, and a controversial commericial aired at least six years ago are truly impediments to the 2nd Amendment, I'd say McCain has a pretty decent 2A record.

"You led on amnesty for illegal alien invaders."

I would not call it amnesty because there were significant penalties set up against those seeking a pathway. I would also point out that the most terminal of the problems in that bill stemmed from democrat amendments. Nevetheless McCain is committed to border security first and has been campaigning on that for months now.

"Just drop the pretenses and register as a Democrat."

McCain's lifetime ACU rating is dozens of points higher than the nearest "conservative Democrat."

"Oh, and thank you for your service in the Navy.”

Thank you, John McCain.
59 posted on 01/01/2008 7:06:11 PM PST by Norman Bates
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To: Veronica Mars

Thank you. It is a nice article.


60 posted on 01/01/2008 7:07:07 PM PST by Norman Bates
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