Imagine, if you will, that the great leaders in our nation’s history had taken a page from the current crop of so-called world leaders.
Just visualize Abraham Lincoln, just before announcing the Emancipation Proclamation, saying “I have an extremely important executive order to declare, but you’ll have to wait. I’ll give you the details next month.”
Visualize President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in one of his memorable fireside chats proclaiming “All we have to fear is….hmmm, hold that thought. I’ll get back to you.”
Or, just picture Ronald Reagan during his classic Berlin speech announcing “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that….um, I’ll call you next week and give you further details.” Great leaders seize the moment, they are clear and decisive in what they say, and confident in the results they wish to achieve.
However, it seems ever since Nancy Pelosi chided Congress into passing the health care bill, and then actually reading the legislation at a later time, the politicians of the world have mimicked her actions.
When facing crucial decisions regarding monumental issues, world leaders have decided to punt.
President Obama, facing one of the greatest challenges since the Great Depression, high unemployment, ostensibly came up with a plan in order to solve the crisis.
In my opinion, it’s a terrible plan, but that’s not the point.
At the specific moment in time when his proposal was completed, the announcement of his strategy should have been a defining moment.
Instead, all we heard was essentially “I’m going on vacation, I’ll tell you later.”
Now, as Europe crumbles and banks like Dexia become nationalized, the frightening memories of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns hang very heavy in the air.
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In order to calm fears after two years of complacency, the two most significant players (Merkel and Sarkozy) recently took to the stage with a clear decisive game plan.
Would they bask in the echoes of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Reagan, or would they cower like Obama?
Sure enough, they said in essence “We have a bold, fresh plan that is definitive in nature and we’ll finally solve this terrible financial crisis.”
As the media anxiously waited for the details, the two so-called world leaders basically said, “We’ll tell you next month, you’ll have to wait.”
Once again, a defining moment lost.
Ultimately, there is only one conclusion: The world is absolutely leaderless.
John Ransom | Create Your Badge
Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/bamransom -See more top stories from Townhall Finance. New Homepage, more content. Be the best informed fiscal conservative.
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