Friday, October 01, 2004
Why Vietnam
The Presidency is all about being the one person who makes the final decisions, and who takes the credit or the blame for how those decisions ultimately work out. The most "accountabilty-dense" job in the world, if you will.
It flashed on me last night that one reason John Kerry is emphasizing his Vietnam experience so much might be that it is the last time he held a position of individual responsibility, as skipper of a PCF.
Think about it. In his VVAW days, he was a spokesperson, and certainly high-visibility, but the organization itself was essentially a committee. If there was a single influential member, Kerry wasn't it. As a lawyer, Kerry was an assistant DA (or something similar -- the point is, he wasn't the boss) then he was one of two partners in a law firm. Then he was Michael Dukakis' Lieutenant Governor and then he became a US Senator (essentially, one member of a committee of 100). At no time since being a Swift Boat skipper has John Kerry ever been solely accountable for anything in a managerial or executive sense.
So, here's a guy that's seeking a job as CEO of a huge organization, but the only executive experience he has is from 30 years ago. What part of his resume should he emphasize? How does he compare with the guy who has held the job for 31/2 years?
It flashed on me last night that one reason John Kerry is emphasizing his Vietnam experience so much might be that it is the last time he held a position of individual responsibility, as skipper of a PCF.
Think about it. In his VVAW days, he was a spokesperson, and certainly high-visibility, but the organization itself was essentially a committee. If there was a single influential member, Kerry wasn't it. As a lawyer, Kerry was an assistant DA (or something similar -- the point is, he wasn't the boss) then he was one of two partners in a law firm. Then he was Michael Dukakis' Lieutenant Governor and then he became a US Senator (essentially, one member of a committee of 100). At no time since being a Swift Boat skipper has John Kerry ever been solely accountable for anything in a managerial or executive sense.
So, here's a guy that's seeking a job as CEO of a huge organization, but the only executive experience he has is from 30 years ago. What part of his resume should he emphasize? How does he compare with the guy who has held the job for 31/2 years?
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