Mavericks Don't Lead

The reason John McCain is ten points behind Barack Obama is, ironically, one of the main reasons people want to vote for him -- he's a maverick. A Senate maverick who has played that role for more than 25 years becomes a self-anointed critic of other people's ideas. McCain's greatest asset is his ability to jettison hare-brained Congressional proposals and policies that don't make common sense. But critics are not creators. They rarely write great novels, invent new technologies, or come up with a great business idea. And that's McCain's failure. He's a one-man Greek chorus, devoid of the kind of ideas and vision that come easily to natural born leaders.

Mavericks are nonconformists. They pride themselves on going it alone. And even though McCain has reached across the aisle to convince others to join his dissent, he's an unlikely leader of a team of people who would be inspired by him. Leadership cries out for vision, and those who have been in the Senate for too many years probably don't have what it takes to be president. If they did, they would have broken out years ago.

Sarah Palin calls herself a maverick because she overturned long-standing policies in Alaska. She prides herself on having an independent voice that serves her constituency, and she may have done a good job in a state that does not reflect many or any of the issues that confront the lower 48. But after all the legislation is overturned, after all the taxes are lowered, after the bridge from nowhere is no longer a story, where are the ideas? What's the vision? Two mavericks do not make one leader.

The difference between the two campaigns is the difference between the critic and the creator. Obama may not deliver on his vision, but at least he has one. He's addressed the issues as a leader of a successful business operation should -- keeping his "customers" front and center and offering solutions that he believes they need and want.. He's eschewed the critic's role in favor of the inventor. He's put himself on the line by exposing his values, his policies, and his ideas to people who will either mock them or embrace them.

At a time when this country is hungry for the can-do spirit that made the country great in the first place, Obama's ten point lead may be more than an election prophecy. It may be a cry to reclaim our future.

Comments

[klondiker]

Exactly. Hillary made this very point at the Eleanor Roosevelt lunch a few days ago. To quote her,

"I don't want a maverick in the White House. Mavericks in the White House and on Wall Street put us into this mess. It's time for some adult supervision."

What we really need is someone with an steady hand to guide us through this crisis. McCain does not fit this bill, as evidenced by his behaviour over the last few weeks.

[loveHP]

I was thinking how much I would like to have seen this point made earlier on, but it is better made now that the country sees that it really does need leadership. The days of reveling in adolescence are over.

[Ish11]

Come to think about it...Food critics are sometimes the worst cooks.

[obamagirl1968]

Bravo! Just as ridiculous is a 'team' of mavericks...huh? I have never thought that being a maverick was a good thing....or why voting with your party is necessarily a bad thing!

[eleutheros]

John McCain is a Soldier, not a General.

[davidhi5]

Very well said, Jacqueline! Those who study leadership styles inform us that some leaders are adept at ripping apart a dysfunctional (or worse) way of doing business. But having succeeded in that enterprise, they are not likely to be equally successful in creating a better system to replace the one they just demolished. I believe that our two mavericks belong in this category. I also believe that Obama's leadership style is guided instead by a vision for the future, and so I'm throwing my hat in with him.

[walkthewalk]

Not everyone, even people with real abilities, is a leader. Unfortunately the position John McCain is applying for now requires consummate leadership skills. As Ms. Leo has explained, McCain has provided a valuable role as critic, and can continue to do so in the Senate.

[kapo]

Brilliant observation Jacqueline. Mavericks should be left to run off into the wilderness by themselves.