McCain Accepts

  • Posted by Buck
  • September 5, 2008

I did not watch any of the convention last night. South Carolina was playing Vanderbilt in Nashville and a man has to keep his priorities in order.

But can somebody tell me if this is for real?

Is this some kind of joke? It is easy to get taken in by internet bullshit and I have taken exactly no time at all to try and check this out but if it is a joke it is a damn funny one but if it is real it is about as sad as it can get.

During the Democratic Convention I received an email from the college Republicans bragging about how they were in Denver waiving the flag for America and waiving the flag for John McCain and how that most folks there were for McCain.

I read the email multiple times and wondered how in the hell college Republicans did not know the difference in waiving a flag and waving a flag. Do these folks not have spell checkers and fact checkers?

I get the distinct feeling that the Republicans are trying to throw this election. Get the hell out of town before the roof completely caves in. But they are going to have to work at it a little harder.

Maybe giving the press access to The Female Chosen One would be a good strategy.

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September 5th, 2008
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Barry
Posted on:
September 5, 2008 at 9:58 am

I totally agree that it was a pretty funny mistake to make in regards to the school/hospital picture (and the waving/waiving gaffe) but how do editing and photo errors really reflect on a person’s ability to govern and lead the country?

We really have to be objective about these kinds of things. There are a million goofs you can find in any project involving thousands of people that don’t reflect on the project as a whole - they’re just goofs-ups, just like you or I might make any time about anything…

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Buck
Posted on:
September 5, 2008 at 11:35 am

Leading is all about surrounding yourself with competent people who are making sure that the people who are supposed to be making sure are making sure.

If a person surrounds himself with incompetence it does not matter how competent he or she is. Whatever they are trying to do will not be done well.

As you know it is all about theatre. And unless the RNC was supposed to be a comedy this represents incompetence and lack of attention to detail.

During the DNC, just before Bill Clinton got up to give his much anticipated speech, whoever was choosing the music decided to play “Chain of Fools”!

I still don’t know if that was accidental or on purpose :-)

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Barry
Posted on:
September 5, 2008 at 1:40 pm

There’s a difference between incompetence and a screwup, which is something a whole lot of people choose to ignore.

Incompetence would’ve been putting up a badly cropped, badly resized grainy graphic of the guy’s sister’s baby shower instead of a big majestic house. And incompetence is spelling “waving”, “w-v-a-z-q-i-#-n-g-”. And playing the Beer Barrel Polka after a speech, or Rocky Top. Or a sound clip of Neville Chamberlain declaring war on Germany. Or nothing at all.

That’s incompetence. These are mistakes, mistakes that anyone can make - while they don’t excuse the person who did them, it still doesn’t reflect on a person’s ability to lead, govern, or yes, surround yourself with “competent” people.

We’re all human and we all make mistakes, and there are millions of people out there who are extremely competent at their jobs, but simply at an inopportune time mess up. It happens to everyone. It does NOT suddenly signify incompetence.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Barry
Posted on:
September 5, 2008 at 1:43 pm

And to expound on your analogy of theatre - if I were leading a band in a show, and there was an important note that had to be played by a trumpet player in the show. And right at that moment - he missed it. Flubbed it. Maybe even ruined a cue.

Would I chastise the guy later? Probably. Would I fire him? Of course not. Would I suddenly consider him “incompetent” at his job? Again, of course not. Would that mistake reflect even farther back on myself as a leader and administrator in putting together the band? No way. You fix the mistakes and you move on.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
smijer
Posted on:
September 5, 2008 at 5:26 pm

I thought they were mad at Barack Obama for waiving a flag lapel pin and waiving a flag on the back of his jet… wierd.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
smijer
Posted on:
September 5, 2008 at 5:51 pm

Then there’s this. Somewhat more embarrasing, I would say.

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Buck
Posted on:
September 8, 2008 at 9:19 am

If you want to lead the free world the most important thing is to first get your power point presentation right.

Then we can work from there.

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Barry
Posted on:
September 8, 2008 at 2:00 pm

Buck, are you serious?