A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
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A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
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January 30, 2004A different take on flip-flopingAndrew Cline at Rhetorica.net: Steve Chapman finds this tendency [believing that politicians should not change their minds for reasons of political expediency] distressing: "Anyone is entitled to change his mind in the light of new evidence. The problem with politicians is that they never seem to change their minds in ways that would hinder their ambitions." He refers to such flip-flops as empty words. This fits very well with my own belief that one often overlooked aspect of leadership is the ability to move a group toward consensus -- to preside over the group, not dictate to the group. In other words, the leader knows how to inspire the process. Hmmm. I think I just 'verbalized' another reason why I like Wes Clark. And another reason why I think Bush simply isn't up to the job. Posted by Erasmus at January 30, 2004 10:05 PMComments
It's also been said with some justification that "concensus" is another word for lack of leadership. I can't count how many times I've sat through public hearings purportedly held to "achieve concensus" that consisted of the organizers bullying everyone over to their pre-determined results, or simply reporting those pre-determined positions as the "concensus of the group" when they were anything but. OTOH, I've also seen the process work, and work well. Just not nearly as often. Personally, I think a politican who won't change their position in light of growing evidence that the position is totally wrong and/or counter-productive is either a moron or a demigogue. (Or bought.) But the sad truth is that most voters have little idea of how complex many issues truly are, or any grasp that the hallmark of an effective working politician is the ability to know how and when to compromise and cut a deal to achieve the maximum good for their constituents. The phrase "herding cats" comes to mind. Truly an art, one that few are capable of. If you don't pay attention to where the cats want to go, you're certainly not going to get them there! Posted by: Tully at January 31, 2004 11:47 AM"Herding cats" is a very appropriate metaphor -- one I also use in describing the challenges of leadership (of any community, not just in politics). As you point out, you have to understand where the cats want to go. You also have to understand that (1) cats act only in their own self-interest, as they perceive it, and (2) not all cats are alike. Scare them and they may scatter, but they'll scatter in different directions. Hold out something you think will entice them, and some will follow, but some will yawn at you and wander off to do something else. The real tricks to herding cats is to understand where most of the cats would naturally want to go, given certain stimuli and situations, and encourage those to happen. And also recognize that, sometimes, if you don't want to go the way they want to go, you might need to find some different cats. Posted by: Ducktape at February 1, 2004 10:48 AM |
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