I read an opinion piece, by some columnist or other on-line, regarding ways Rick Perry can overcome his memory lapse in the last debate, and the author made a very good point. He said the presidency isn’t about debating skills, it’s about running the nation. And I agree with him on that issue completely.
The author’s exactly right, the president’s job really isn’t about fencing with others via words and trying to score the most points. It’s a far more complex challenge than that and covers myriads of subjects. And as governor of Texas, Mr. Perry evidently did an outstanding job in the post. Having said that however, I think there’s more to this debating slip-up than just a forgetful moment.
The responsibility of presiding over the greatest nation on earth requires that the one in office have many governance skills, and the ability to deal with whatever issues arise, either by him or with the assistance of others. And as far as the performance of those things the leader takes on himself are concerned, the execution must be flawless, 24/7/365. And if that’s too high an expectation of one man, so-be-it, but that’s what the job entails.
Consequently, it’s obvious via results to date, along with comments Mr. Perry’s made in the past, that debating isn’t his forte and he’s more of a doer than talker, which is fine with me. But if that’s truly the case, he shouldn’t have taken the challenge on in the first place. Because I don’t think Mr. Perry’s debating mistake is what’s in evidence here. I believe his stepping up to something he clearly understood was beyond his capability shows a complete lack of good judgement.
So in this case, like so many things in life, it’s the little things that count and one‘s future conduct can be judged quite accurately by how they’ve behaved in the past. And that’s why Mr. Perry should have simply declined to debate in the first place and let folks judge his capability by other methods. Because what his flubbing makes me wonder is: How many other things he’s no good at would he try to fudge his way through and then laugh about them on Letterman after screwing them up as President of the U.S.?
That's it for today folks.
Adios
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