A Leadership Vacuum

Learning from good and bad examples

Leadership in action: Dogs lead their cattle out of the flood to safety.

Our disconnected “leaders” do not address the issues that concern most Americans.

This country is suffering from a leadership vacuum. Daily we see the President, Vice President and senior members of the administration, all unable to answer questions directly or to candidly and honestly address the issues that worry most Americans. Some of these issues that they duck are:

• The invasion of our country by millions of “immigrants;”

• Rampant lawlessness in many towns and cities by persons whom the “elites” have welcomed into the country without any attempt to separate the murderers, rapists, and other convicted criminals from those who might make positive contributions to society;

• The price of groceries and gas;

• The inability to buy a home;

• Inflation that has gutted their modest retirement savings;

• Whether they will be able to keep their job or whether they will have to move to another state and follow their advice and ‘learn to code;’

• Overweening federal regulation and control of lives and property.

We see the so-called “elites” who would rule our lives and tell us how to live and vote, preaching to us from their multiple mega-mansions from Hawaii to Martha’s Vineyard. Their lectures address what is important to them, not what is important, even crucial to most Americans.

For example, we see them flying to from Hollywood, Nantucket and D.C. to Davos, Switzerland in their private jets, all the while lecturing us about the evils of fossil fuels and the “climate crisis.” They want us to believe that they are entitled do this because the changing climate will destroy the world if we do not accept their totalitarian solutions now. Such things — not the daily concerns of most Americans — are what is important to our “elite” leaders.

In short, our “elite” leadership is disconnected from the overriding concerns of everyday Americans. Why is that do you think? Why is it that they ‘just don’t get it?’

Some of it is pure self-interest: Follow the money. When you realize that many are getting rich in their role as “public servants,” that explains much of their behavior.

But there is more. Their failure also is due to the fact that many come from a privileged background that shapes their lives and outlook in a way that does not enable them to identify with ordinary people. Or if they once had such a background, they have sold their values to the highest bidders. So, for those who do start from more modest means, their outlook seldom stays with them after they have relocated to the city my favorite federal judge, the late Honorable D. Dortch Warriner, once called, “Babylon on the Potomac.”

Thus, whether it is due to birth and breeding or to their having forgotten their upbringing and background, these would-be grifters and totalitarians do not identify and empathize with ordinary people and their problems.

We have seen that on display in the past week.

Leadership lessons — good and bad — from Hurricane Helene

This week I spend a significant amount of time watching TV and reading various news articles about the extensive damage wrought by Hurricane Helene throughout the American Southeast. I saw flooded streets, even what appeared to be entire small towns destroyed. These are places where I have visited, lived, and know quite well. I saw that the storm killed people. It destroyed homes and towns. Countless people lost their livelihoods, some forever. Towns are cut off. Homeless people have been searching for food, medicine and shelter for the night. Millions are without power. People with intact homes are wondering when they will get electricity again and when trucks with food and other necessities will be able to reach them. Some have been agonizing over whether their family, friends and neighbors are even alive. Hundreds are still missing. It is a true disaster.

When people have suffered such trauma, sometimes effective leadership requires that you just have to show up. Show that you will change your schedule and get on the ground with the people most affected. Show support. Show empathy. Show you care. Do it now.

As I watched these scenes, I saw leaders at state and local levels, governors, mayors, sheriffs and others, doing just that. Many were on the ground, working with people to reassure them that they were addressing their needs. Just showing their faces. Just showing empathy. Bringing hope. Just being there.

What I did not see was any leadership from our senior national leaders. I kept wondering if and when I would see President Biden or Vice President Harris. I did not. They did not show up.

President Biden was at his beach house in Delaware. When questioned later, he claimed that he had been “commanding” from his mobile phone.

Vice President Harris also did not show up. That, of course, is consistent with her campaign strategy. She talked to some people and got some briefings. While visiting FEMA on Monday, September 30, she read a prepared statement to the public that took less than five minutes. No questions were asked or answered.

Biden and Harris likely will make more statements of some sort, and probably will visit sometime. Hopefully this might happen more quickly than the year it took President Biden before he finally dropped by East Palestine, Ohio after the train derailment and chemical spill there. But does anyone think that they really understand — really feel — what these people have just gone through? Is it any wonder that people in the devastated areas have been questioning whether anyone in our political leadership understood or cared? I think not. All they had to do was show up and talk with people. They chose not to bother.

I did see former President Trump on the ground in Valdosta, Georgia. He did not delay. He dropped whatever else he had planned and just showed up. That alone was a statement. He did not interfere with rescue efforts but spoke directly with residents who were on the verge of losing all hope. He did not talk about politics but emphasized that everyone needed to work together and pitch in to help. He personally helped raise money for the victims. In short, he demonstrated innate qualities of leadership. He did not try to flaunt it but showed that he understood and had empathy for the poor people who have been hit so hard by this story.

As always, make your own decisions and choices.