Obama, The Leader

I recently read an op-ed that Obama was a lousy leader. He was a nice guy you’d like to have at your barbeque, careful not to offend anyone, but he wasn’t a leader.

The piece went on to describe how leaders have to make decisions that sometimes step on people’s toes, but Obama by contrast seems weak, indecisive, and slow-to-act.

This is not the first time I have heard this complaint, but it makes me wonder: if Obama is making so many upset by being indecisive, perhaps he is a leader after all – a leader of a different sort, maybe? Perhaps he is being an example for the rest of us, forging the way towards being thoughtful, measuring twice and cutting once, and looking before he leaps.

Maybe he’s actually doing exactly what he always wanted to do, but the situation requires grace, finesse, and patience. Then again, perhaps the situation requires confusion. This may be why he sometimes seems to send out mixed signals. Maybe he’s playing a deeper game, and he’s not doing what we think he’s doing.

I don’t know. I just know that Obama doesn’t seem all that indecisive to me, and he does at times seem offensive. At least he offends me. He doesn’t strike me as the type that tries to avoid stepping on other people’s toes at all. I’m not sure I’d want him at my barbeques, either – if I had any.

Not all people who oppose Obama fit the same mold. Some dislike him because he seems indecisive, while others oppose him because of the decisions he has made. The world is a complex place, filled with all types, so don’t be quick to judge where people are coming from. This is yet another reason that describing where people fall on the political spectrum is a tricky, and probably counterproductive, task.