Lee Iococca: “Throw the Bums Out!”

In light of that, let's bump Obama up to a B on the Iococca index…

He may be 82 years old, but he hasn't lost the old P andV!  Lee Iococca, creator of the populist1964½ Ford Mustang and bail-out genius of Chrysler Corp., has sprinkled aboutsome salty observations worth adding to the national archive of pithy wisdom.

Granted, his observations are a year old, having been extracted from his 2007 release, "WhereHave All the Leaders Gone?"  Who couldhave guessed that they would become spot-on as we find ourselves beingbombarded by "Hope," "Experience "and "Stay-the-Course" in pursuit of the seatof honor in the Oval Office?  

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?  Where the hell is our courage?  We should be screaming bloody murder.  We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.  But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "stay the course."

 

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding.  This is America, not the damned Titanic.  I'll give you a sound bite:  Throw the bums out![1]

In light of John McCain's endorsement today of HillaryClinton as his opponent in November (DrudgeReport, Mon Apr 14 2008 10:46:19 ET), we can scratch two, it would seem.

Assuming that in thisround Jesse Ventura opts to pass and Ralph Nader fails to recover his luster,the agent of "Change" has neatly positioned himself under the microscope of theIacocca index. 

Let's see if he measures up.

"The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies.  Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy…While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do.  And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions."[2]

On those three measures, we'll give Obama a grade of C, Band C, or a collective C+.  Moving on,

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem.  The silence is deafening.  But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.[3]

On these three, we'll give Obama a B, C, B+, or a collectiveB.

This next one hits us minions where we live, while thepoliticos never have to experience a security line at an airport.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo.  We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.[4]

Homeland security is what happened when our government gotcaught with its pants down by failing to respond to the intelligence report ofa pack of immigrants attending flight school in Florida. 

About as close as Obama has come to addressing this colossalbungle is to cosponsor the extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.The Act provides important protections to real estate in potentially vulnerablecities such as Chicago.  We'll give him a D.

I have news for the gang in Congress.  We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.  What's everybody so afraid of?  That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name?  Give me a break.  Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?[5]

Let's give Obama an A on that one.

There are probably many more choice indicators on theIococca index of cahonas , but these will suffice for now.

Averaging the four scores, Obama gets a B- on the Iococcaindex going in.  Actually, that is veryencouraging, considering that the one presently occupying the White House beganwith a C- and spiraled downhill from there. Perhaps a B- is gutsy enough to move us in the right direction for a"Change."

As a parting shot, Iococca has this to say about our currentPresident, whom he endorsed for the first term:

George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control.  God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping.  There's a disturbing messianic fervor to his certainty.

 

Swagger isn't courage.  Tough talk isn't courage.  Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado.  Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.[6]

In light of that, let's bump Obama up to a B.

[1] http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10476.html

[2] Ibid.

[3]http://www.deeshaa.org/2008/02/19/lee-iacocca-on-leadership/

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070412/POLITICS/704120383