There
is a huge difference between the corporate world and the political world.
Unfortunately President Donald Trump is learning this the hard way.
Following
the appearance of former FBI director James Comey before a Senate Judiciary
Committee Thursday the best that can be said was it proved to be “get even” time.
When someone calls the President of the United States a “liar” under oath it
means something. And that is exactly what Comey said.
The
comment came after he testified that during a private dinner with President
Trump his account of the event differed from what the President has said in
public. It all hinged around what Trump said to Comey regarding his fired national
security advisor Lt. General Michael Flynn. It seems that the President made a
suggestion to Comey that he cut some slack regarding an on-going investigation
into the Flynn’s activities with foreign countries as Turkey that led to his dismissal.
And
this is where the two worlds collide.
Trump
came from nowhere. Nobody ever expected that he would come from a non political
world and win the nomination for the presidency of the United States let alone
that he could be elected. Politics demands that outsiders remain outside and
let the professional career hacks run everything. But Trump proved them wrong.
He won the election on the foundation of ideas and promises. The American
people were tired of how the country was being run and wanted someone fresh who
had knowledge of how to achieve success. Trump was the man.
As
a businessman Trump achieved huge success. He knew how to cut to the meat of a
problem and solve it. He came to office as a non-nonsense guy who wanted to
make “American great again.” He has all the tools to make good on his word but
his methods are more for the boardroom than the oval office.
The
lesson Trump needs to learn is that you do not invite an employee (Comey) to a
private dinner and try to woo him to lean your way. In the corporate world this
would be a normal thing to do. Flatter, feed and make the employee comfortable
and then pitch your request or idea. After a couple of drinks the employee would
usually agree with the boss (Trump) and fall into line. But in the political
world things are done differently. Instead awards are offered, promotions are
given, alliances are made, and favors are given. That is the political way of
doing business. This is particularly true for someone who is incompetent—you promote
them.
In
addition to this the President needs to learn that “tweaking” can do more harm
than good even though the message he is promoting has merit. A thick skin is
necessary to survive in the political world. This is a lesson Trump has yet to
learn. If one is to make a career in the political world they need to be
prepared to take a lot of knocks justified or not. Those holding office can
expect a deluge of unfavorable mail. It’s part of the game. But trying to
counter these attacks “tweaking” can easily be used as ammunition against you.
It
should also be noted that “truth” is not necessarily truth. Those in politics
quickly learn that exaggeration, compromise, deceit and outright disinformation
best serves their purpose. Dirty tricks are their best weapon and the Democrats
are artists in this regard. Push a lie far enough and soon it becomes reality.
As
far as loyalty is concerned that is also part of the game. But asking an
employee (Comey) for their loyalty is crazy. For one thing the former FBI
Director has used his position for political reasons. This is proved by his
bowing to his former boss Attorney General Loretta Lynch “suggestion” that he
not use the term “investigation” regarding Hillary Clinton’s email fiasco.
Most
interesting is that Comey is a former Republican who is now registered as an
Independent. This may not be too unusual since many Americans have changed
their affiliation from the “Grand Old Party” to Independent including this
writer.
The reason is simple;
what the Democratic Party was 50 years ago is where the Republican Party is
today. Both the Republicans and the Democrats seem to have lost their bearings
as to what America and the principles of what our country stands forn. Now
politics seems to center on power, money and getting reelected to office rather
what matters best for the American people. Trump believes that this is the
wrong course and that we need to get back to what our founding fathers decreed
in our constitution.
But
before he can push his agenda, which makes a lot of sense, the President needs
to do what he does best—continue to show leadership and stop tweaking!
No comments:
Post a Comment