Okay, Now We REALLY Have To Impeach This Guy!
Okay, he tried to sell a Senate seat…well, why the heck not? Innovative fundraising, if you ask me…and sure, he extorted money from a children’s hospital, but hey, those dang kids are always getting sick…why should the taxpayer foot the bill? Yes, yes, he peddled influence – well, influence-peddling is an occupation with a long, venerated history…so what’s the big – wait a second!
He tried to give OPRAH the Senate seat? OPRAH???!!??? You gotta be sh- er, kidding me…jeez, who’s next, Al Franken?
Okay, that’s it! Take him away, boys…
Ha, I might actually like to see Oprah run for Blago’s job. We do an awful lot of talking about “executive experience”, and Oprah’s one of the most successful executives in the history of the world. I think she could make a good argument for herself.
I agree. If Jesse Ventura can be governor, and Arnold, why not Oprah? I think she has considerably more executive experience than either of those two.
I think Arnold has done an astonishingly good job as Governor. He had some stumbles in the beginning, but he is unafraid of making hard choices and is making the best of a bad situation. His hands are tied by California’s systemically weak government structure and a series of asinine propositions. I’ve lived in California for about fifteen years, and he is by far the best Governor we’ve had in that time.
How many of his challenges do you judge to be due to his inexperience, either managerial or political? I didn’t intend to slam him, or Ventura, in the post above, just meant to contrast Oprah’s more considerable managerial/executive experience with Arnold’s.
I think the challenges are primarily due to the governmental structure, the propositions, and the fecklessness of both parties in state government.
I think management experience is over-rated — you can hire good managers. I think having the right instincts and the willingness to put the public interest over personal interest are more important.
The CEO’s of Citibank, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and lots of other companies have management experience in spades, but I wouldn’t want them to go anywhere near government. By contrast, Ronald Reagan did not have much management experience, but he left a lasting mark on state and national government. While I’m not a big Reagan fan, I would take him over the CEO’s any day of the week.
Hmmm… I think you are mixing political skill (vision & leadership) and management experience. I agree, you can hire people to make sure the trains run on time. Setting strong, achievable goals, and establishing a vision that you can get the people to embrace, that is the secret sauce to effective governance in the executive, whether the president or governor. Many CEOs, especially those at large firms, are autocrats and so are culturally unfit for the rigors of governing. I think Oprah is a different sort, having built her empire from the ground up and based almost solely on her vision and leadership, and so has a greater potential to be a good politician.
No argument there — however I think Arnold definitely has the secret sauce.
Ew.