Vote for ‘leaders’ who will lead

You will often find leadership and bravery in places that you might not expect. They sometimes comes forth in times of stress when all seems lost. In times of war the records of soldiers who took on extraordinary roles when it needed them is legendary. But often those that are in a technical position of leadership do not have the courage or willpower to deal with that which they were put into a position of authority. It is not that uncommon to see this failure in business, the military and government.

The recent tax bill approved to avoid the reported ”fiscal cliff” is a perfect example. When those put into a position to deal with the problem could not, or would not address the issue, who came forward to lead? Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Biden. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was AWOL and bitter, the president was spending his time chasing golf balls and photo ops, and House Speaker John Boehner was bloodied and broken.

Fundamentally the bill is not what I would have written, but everyone knew there needed to be compromise. What was needed was people to stick their neck out and lead. Let this be a lesson to the electorate. If you want people to lead, vote for people who have proved experience in leading not just in being in position of leadership. There is a big difference. Thank you Leader McConnell and Vice President Biden. You were the grown-ups in the room.

Richard Francke

Bartlett