Where have all the leaders gone?

Last weekend I picked up the new book by Lee Iacocca, titled "Where Have All The Leaders Gone?". In his usual refreshing, blunt style, Iacocca dishes out lots of criticism of our nation's leaders, but also offers some common sense suggestions about how we can get back on track.

His harshest criticism is reserved for President Bush, who he actually campaigned for in 2000. For example, decrying the "Swift Boat" attacks against John Kerry as the worst example of partisanship, he lambastes the "AWOL National Guardsman in Chief" for "the ugliest thing I've ever seen in politics - and that's saying a lot. I was disgusted by it." Iacocca criticises the President for the Iraq War, the power-hungry attacks on the Constitution, his inability to listen, tax cuts for the wealthy ("thanks, but I didn't need it"), the lack of progress on major issues like health care and education, etc.

There's plenty of criticism reserved for Democratic leaders also. But the main criticism of the book is leveled at us average Americans - for putting up with this mess, for our horrible voting participation compared to other democracies, and for our preoccupation with trivial things at the expense of maintaining our democracy. He hopes to get Americans, especially young Americans, angry about the state of our nation, "as soon as I can pry them away from their iPods for five seconds and get them to pay attention."

In the book, Iaccoca offers the "Nine C's of Leadership" that we should use as a yardstick to judge candidates in the next election cycle: curiosity, creative, communicate, character, courage, conviction, charisma, competent, common sense. He holds this yardstick up to current leaders - and some of the current crop of Presidential candidates - and encourages us to do the same.

"Where Have All The Leaders Gone?" was an honest, refreshing look at the state of our nation and what we need to do to fix it, from a guy who reminds me of Harry Truman. (Jeff Bell ought to enjoy it!)