“Leadership” the Bullshit of it All

I got an email just now from a very good and very old friend.

He is a friend with whom I find less and less in common.

He is over hard on the fact that an AK 47 is a legitimate hunting weapon – and that  massive bullet feeding mechanisms are good and natural parts of our lives.

He also has bought into the “leadership vacuum” myth that is being circulated, and has been since our President was first elected in 2008.  The fact that that myth is nothing but a surrogate racist way of saying that a (expletive deleted) can’t possibly be a legitimate President of the United States of America either has eluded him, or he just doesn’t care.

So here is the nub of what he said:

“This is my point about not being a leader.  But America said it was OK he can do it again.  How can the alleged leader of the nation sit on his ass and say it's Congress's fault.  With him it's always "SOMEONE" else's fault.”

Here is what I responded.

“I watched Meet The Press this afternoon.

I have no idea what is really going on – nor do you – but I saw a guy, our president,  who is executing a well planned strategy.

And the base premise of that strategy is that McConnell and Boehner and the rest of them are such assholes that there is no dealing with them.

But they CAN be pushed into a corner of their own making. 

And they have made for themselves that corner.

Barack riding out on his horse to do battle would be stupid if the republicans are about to bring themselves to defeat with no action required from him.

Napoleon won many of his battles by coming around from behind the inflexible battle lines of the Austro-Hungarian empire. 

The rules of “leadership” of the day required him to hit ‘em head on.

But he chose otherwise and he always won.  Yeah – ultimately there was Waterloo, but Bonaparte was getting old and tired by 1814.  And he had had to start from zero after returning from exile.

I think leadership from behind has a heritage, and a GRAND one. 

But then I am a great fan of Monsieur, l'Empéreur, Bonaparte.

My friend, you really are becoming a sedentary, angry, sad old man.