QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:45 A.M. ET:  The New York Times reviews "Confidence Men," by Ron Suskind, which paints a devastating picture of a dysfunctional Obama White House.  From the review:

The president’s own assessment of his first two years in office? Mr. Suskind says Mr. Obama told him that he, along with Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, shared “the disease of being policy wonks,” that he had been “very comfortable with a technocratic approach to government,” and that he needed to focus on the bigger picture. “Going forward as president,” he said in the February 2011 interview, “the symbols and gestures — what people are seeing coming out of this office — are at least as important as the policies we put forward.”

COMMENT:  It's nice to know the president understands.  He comes, though, from the "intellectual" world, a world in which the human factor is often discounted, in favor of technocratic policies that are cold at heart.

Great presidents always understand that leadership has a spiritual component.  That may not mean religion, although religion must be a part of any American leader's outlook.  The spiritual component, including symbols and gestures, reassures the nation that the president is "part of us," that he understands and is with us.

Lincoln understood the spiritual.  It's one of the factors that made his speeches great, that made him a moral, as well as a political leader.  Franklin D. Roosevelt understood it, as he prayed with the nation on D-Day.  Ronald Reagan understood it, as he consoled the nation after the Challenger disaster.

This current chap hasn't got a clue.

The man who could run such a brilliant campaign has little understanding of his office.  He seems not to like his own country, and to feel himself above it.  He speaks beautifully, but really says nothing.  He would undoubtedly scoff at lines like, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." 

Part of the spritual side of leadership is understanding, as great military leaders do, the importance of morale.  American morale is in the basement right now, and we have a president who, unlike the optimistic Mr. Reagan, has no idea how to speak to us in ways that would envision a better future.  He can't do it, because I'm not really sure he believes in it. 

September 20, 2011