Tribalism and Trumpzism - echo opnion in the Reno Gazette-Journal

There are many reasons to be optimistic about 2019. But.....

Trump isn’t one of them. 

Echo opinion published in the Reno Gazette-Journal by Mark Nissenbaum:

Toxic politics, tribalistic idiots, climate change and #me-me-me’ers are killing us. But there are millions of good people worldwide. We have a beautiful country to live in, if we don’t destroy it first.

There are two kinds of economists; those who don’t know and those who don’t know they don’t know. Predictions are accurate for one news cycle, then circumstances repeatedly change. Trump’s actions continually and radically alter paradigms, causing worldwide angst and fear.

When Trump was elected, 84 percent of allied populations were hopeful. Now it’s 16 percent and difficult to see how it’ll improve. Predicting economic peril in the Age of Trump isn’t difficult. For example, an unexpectedly severe El Nino and widespread drought will result in diminished food production across much of the world. With trade patterns already disrupted by a tariff war, hunger will spread; refugees will start moving.

We’ll need three times the amount of food to feed the populace by 2030. If past is prologue, we know how our leaders will respond. Putin will opt to keep his wheat off the global market, using wheat as a political weapon. Trump must decide whether to open markets or bar exports as part of an “America First’’ food policy. Trump will use wheat as a financial weapon.

The past week exemplifies Trump’s destructive effect on competent government and it should give all Americans pause. Our political system is in chaos and we have no control on either side. It’ll take strong leadership to guide us through these crises; crises born from unforced errors and comical pratfalls.

Notwithstanding the shutdown, Trump’s Deep State is intentionally understaffed. Sure many government employees are overly officious and we often feel oppressed, but destroying the system is the wrong approach. Repair it; don’t destroy it. By design and neglect, Trump is tearing apart the very order that keeps this railroad moving. We don’t need to tear it down; we need better leadership.

There are those who benefit personally, thus continue to support him. And there are those who believe he’s going to radically improve their lives. This has been the formula for all false prophets and autocrats throughout history. Trump is no exception.

Our social fabric cannot stand the tribalism, extremism and seething resentment on both sides. And when the social fabric falters, the economy fails. Tearing down the world order may seem politically advantageous to some, but the short- and long-term effects will be devastating.

We don’t like being the policeman of the world, but we are because it keeps us safe. Leading the world is not our goal; keeping us safe is. Trump’s presidency is not keeping us safe.

Mark Nissenbaum is an international economist.

New Year message to Donald Trump: "This Week" ABC News transcript with Martha Raddatz and General McChryrstal

"....Donald Trump....went too far in injecting politics into his visit with the troops in Iraq. Retired four star Army general Stanley McChrystal is one of those critics. He served as the top commander of U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan until 2010 and he's the author of a new book, "Leaders: Myth and Reality." Martha Raddatz sat down with him this week for his take on the commander-in-chief.

General Stanley A. McChrystal

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates described McChrystal as "perhaps the finest warrior and leader of men in combat I ever met."

RADDATZ:  You saw Donald Trump there this week talking to troops, not only in Iraq, but in -- in Germany. And the speech clearly took a political turn. He was talking about the border wall, he was disparaging Democrats. What did you think when you saw that?

GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL (RET.), Former Commander, International Security Assistance Force 

When leaders visit soldiers, young women and men out in potentially harm's way, there's a sacred interaction that occurs.

You have to provide for them leadership. You're showing that you are there. You're also listening to their problems. You don't use that as a time to tout your politics or your personal opinions.

You use it as a time to reassure them that what they are doing is appreciated by people. So, I think it's very important that we understand the role and a responsibility that leaders have, which is -- sometimes transcends what we want to do in the moment.

RADDATZ: And you also saw some of those troops coming forward with red "Make America Great" hats.

MCCHRYSTAL: Sure.

RADDATZ: The military rules prohibit active-duty personnel from engaging in partisan political activities and prohibit military personnel from showing any political leanings while in uniform.

Did they violate that?

MCCHRYSTAL: Well, I think they violated the spirit of it.

And I think it's unfortunate, because, if the U.S. military becomes politicized, it will be something we're not happy with.

RADDATZ: As we talk here today, Syria's military is poised to enter the Kurdish-held town of Manbij. What do you think is going to happen there without U.S. troops?

MCCHRYSTAL: Well, I think there's every likelihood that the Kurds come up in a very difficult position.

We leveraged Kurdish military prowess and capabilities to help deal with ISIS. And I think we did that well. I also think we created a relationship and an expectation with them that was natural. They thought that we would help protect them.

I think now there's every likelihood that Bashar al-Assad's forces will do whatever damage they can to the Kurds to try to remind the Kurds that they are in an area in which they are very, very vulnerable.

RADDATZ: Outside of the Kurds, what difference does it make, does it really make, if those 2,000 U.S. forces leave?

MCCHRYSTAL: Yeah.

You never know until we see how things play out. My sense is that we have a tumultuous regime -- or region now that has a Russian presence, which had been out for about 30 years after the 1973 war, and now Russia's back, and they're back in an influential way.

Iran has increased influence across the region now. If you pull American influence out, you're likely to have greater instability. And, of course, it will be much more difficult for the United States to try to push events in any direction.

There is an argument that says we just pull up our stuff, go home, let the region run itself. That has not done well for the last 50 or 60 years.

RADDATZ: And I take it you don't believe ISIS is defeated?

MCCHRYSTAL: I don't believe ISIS is defeated. I think ISIS is as much an idea as it is a number of ISIS fighters.

There's a lot of intelligence that says there are actually more ISIS fighters around the world now than there were a couple of years ago. Doesn't mean we didn't do well against ISIS in Iraq and in much of Syria.

But ISIS is an idea. And as long as the fertile ground exists, the causes that cause people to flock to a movement as extreme as ISIS exist, you're going to have it flare back up again.

RADDATZ: In Afghanistan, the president has ordered them to start looking at drawing down half of those troops there. Do you see that as a problem?

MCCHRYSTAL: I think the great mistake in the president's leaked guidance is that, just when we were starting to sit down with the Taliban, just when we were starting to begin negotiations, he basically traded away the biggest leverage point we have.

If you tell the Taliban that we are absolutely leaving on date certain, cutting down, weakening ourselves, their incentives to try to cut a deal drop dramatically.

And, of course, I was worried about the confidence of the Afghan people, because, at the end of the day, that's what determines who wins in Afghanistan. And I think we probably rocked them. We rocked them and their belief that we are allies that can be counted on.

RADDATZ: But, at the same time, this is what President Trump campaigned on. They had to have a pretty good idea he wanted to get out of there.

MCCHRYSTAL: Yes, I think so. There's -- it's not a -- it's not a big surprise.

And I think the first thing we have to do is navigate from where we are, not from where we wish we were.

RADDATZ: Jim Mattis' last day as defense secretary is this Monday. You saw his very public rebuke of President Trump.

What do you think Americans should make of a resignation of someone like Jim Mattis?

MCCHRYSTAL: I would guess that Secretary Mattis took a long time agonizing over writing a letter that was as direct about his feelings as that particular letter was.

He knew it would be very public and it would make a very strong statement that was much broader than the Syria issue. It was about America's role in the world.

I personally think it was valuable. I think maybe it causes the American people to take pause and say, wait a minute, if we have someone who is as selfless and as committed as Jim Mattis resigns his position, walking away from all the responsibility he feels for every service member in our forces, and he does so in a public way like that, we ought to stop and say, OK, why did he do it?

We ought to ask what kind of commander in chief he had that Jim Mattis that, you know, the good Marine, felt he had to walk away.

RADDATZ: So, if someone was asked to be secretary of defense right now who you knew, what would you say to that person?

MCCHRYSTAL: I would ask them to look in the mirror and ask them if they can get comfortable enough with President Trump's approach to governance, how he conducts himself, with his values and with his world view, to be truly loyal to him as a commander in chief and going forward.

And we're all instinctively loyal. But the reality is, if there's too much of a disconnect, then I would tell him, I think it's -- it would be a bad foundation upon which to try to build a successful partnership with that job.

RADDATZ: If you were asked to join the Trump administration, what would you say?

MCCHRYSTAL: I would say no.

I think it's important for me to work for people who I think are basically honest, who tell the truth as best they know it.

RADDATZ: You think he's a liar?

MCCHRYSTAL: I don't think he tells the truth.

RADDATZ: Is Trump immoral, in your view?

MCCHRYSTAL: I think he is.

RADDATZ: What would you say to those Americans, then -- and there are a lot of them -- who support Donald Trump, who say, I like what he's doing, he's shaking things up, I don't care about this other stuff?

MCCHRYSTAL: Yeah, I would say everyone has to make their own judgment. I can't tell any supporter of one politician or another that they are wrong.

But what I would ask every American to do is, again, stand in front of that mirror and say, what are we about? Am I really willing to throw away or ignore some of the things that people do that are -- are pretty unacceptable, normally, just because they accomplish certain other things that we might like?

If we want to be governed by someone we wouldn't do a business deal with because their -- their background is so shady, if we're willing to do that, then that's in conflict with who I think we are. And so I think it's necessary at those times to take a stand.

RADDATZ: Our thanks to Stan McChrystal.

Anthem abdicates health mission and social responsibility

It's irresponsibly for Anthem to sign a letter in opposition to the Graham-Cassidy legislation, while, in the same news cycle announcing the company's decision to withdraw from the insurance exchanges, supported by the Affordable Care Act.  In this wrong minded decision, Anthem is abdicating its mission and ignoring the social responsibility that comes with their healthy financial situation.  A bad decision to abandon the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges is leaving tens of thousands without coverage.

Moreover, consider this article from Forbes- September 27, 2017: 

Want To Engage Millennials? Try Corporate Social Responsibility- by Marissa Peretz

Millennials are becoming even more engaged in philanthropic causes in 2017 than they were in late 2016, according to Phase 1 of the Millennial Impact Report. At the same time, employers continue to search for ways to engage millennials to successfully attract, hire and retain them. As millennials become an increasingly large percentage of the workforce, companies may take the opportunity to support their local community. Colleagues working together to accomplish a shared goal can have a positive effect on company culture. Embracing corporate social responsibility can benefit the bottom line as well. In a recent Cone Communications survey, 87% of Americans will purchase a product because a company advocated for an issue they cared about, and millennials are more likely than other generations to research the issues a company supports and the extent to which the company contributes.

Leading by example

Integrity- vision-positive attitude-inspiring

What does corporate social responsibility look like? 

There is a wide range of options. Some opportunities involve multiple companies devoted to community service. One such event is organized by nonprofit Technology Underwriting Greater Good (TUGG), which was founded by 3 venture capitalists from Accomplice and General Catalyst. “Our Annual Tech Gives Back day of service is the largest day of service in the tech industry globally,” said Elizabeth Dobrska, Executive Director of TUGG. “This is our 7th year, and we will have 1500 volunteers and 90+ companies at 50+ volunteer sites.” Participating companies include Wayfair and WeWork.

The opportunities are as diverse as the employees who volunteer for them. “We accumulated 1,570 volunteer hours on company time in 2016,” said Amy Hattan, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability at engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti. “One group used their time to volunteer at GrowNYC’s Teaching Garden, an urban farm featuring vegetable beds made from recycled plastic lumber, a small-scale farm, fruit trees, a high-tunnel greenhouse and rainwater harvesting systems.”

While some companies have formal programs, others let employees follow their individual passion for volunteering. “Our leadership team doesn’t dictate where people volunteer because we want our team members – those who live and work in the communities we serve – to decide where their time will have an impact,” said Chris Martin, President and CEO, Provident Bank. 

“Whether that’s picking up a hammer and helping Habitat for Humanity or spending the day throwing strikes during the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowling Tournament, we encourage all team members to take time to give back. That is why we give every employee 2 paid days per year to volunteer.”

Corporate social responsibility may even dovetail with the company’s main business. “United By Blue, a sustainable outdoor apparel company with a strong focus on waterway conservation, allows its employees to take time off to volunteer at our company-hosted cleanups,” said United By Blue PR Associate Ethan Peck. “These take part on/near bodies of water (rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans, etc.) and are part of our mission to remove a pound of trash for every product sold - something we've stringently followed. We've picked up over a million pounds of trash thus far!”

Some companies approach projects with a longer time frame. “There is a nice trend in Fortune 500 companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Cigna that offer global pro bono advisor or volunteer programs to their employees," said Paula Caligiuri, PhD, D'Amore-McKim School of Business Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University. “In these programs, employees are on loan, whether for a few weeks or several months, to volunteer their professional skills in in developing countries. Companies can achieve their CSR goals while dramatically increasing employee engagement through volunteerism.”

Marissa Peretz is Founder of Silicon Beach Talent, a boutique recruiting and consulting firm in Los Angeles. SBT recruits designers, engineers, and leadership for emerging tech companies.

(I'm certain there're many people at Anthem who read Forbes. Maybe, they will even read and consider the message in this blog.)

Qualifications of a House Speaker - First Do No Harm

House speaker John Boehner is a leader obsessed with obstruction. Although he pretends to lead his colleagues in the House of Representatives, he fails the basic political test of a public servant to create trust. 

As though Americans need more reasons to mistrust Speaker Boehner, he has now criticized President Obama for not attending a previously scheduled summit meeting with Russian President Putin in early September. House Speaker John Boehner used the development as an opportunity to take a swipe at Obama.
"A reset with Russia just collapsed," he said.  

President Obama has every reason not to attend a summit with Putin in advance of the G-20 economic summit in St. Petersburg.

Apparently, Boehner is unaware of how the US was diplomatically snubbed when the National Security Agency whistle blower Edward Snowden, a man on the lamb for breach of national security, was given asylum by the Russians, despite US protests 

This decision to cancel the summit meeting was made in the interest of affirming America's international leadership in the face of a national security embarrassment over the asylum granted to Snowden by Putin.  

Boehner's criticism of President Obama is making a delicate situation even more fragile. Moreover, the criticism doesn't demonstrate patriotic leadership.  In short, Boehner isn't building trust in America by criticizing the President about this important decision not to attend the summit.  

Putin must have known this response to the summit was coming. For President Obama to attend the summit, while Russia continues to provide Snowden asylum, would be ridiculous, because only acrimony would result. This anticipated negative political affect shared by two world leaders wouldn't be good for either nations' public relations.

One has to wonder if Speaker Boehner even bothers to read the news he needs to know.  (Boehner needs Katie Couric's question. "So, Speaker Boehner, what newspapers do you read?")

Boehner doesn't understand how his leadership is harming our national security and America's international credibility.

In short, Boehner must learn to "first do no harm".

Let's begin with the public servant's obligation to build trust. About the only thing Americans can trust Boehner to do is obstruct any and all things sanctioned with a President Obama imprimatur.

Obviously, Speaker Boehner doesn't recall, or he chooses to ignore, the effective leadership built upon the trust shared by Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neal.  MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews reported in a January 8, 2011 Washington Post op-ed article how politicians today should pay attention to the effective leadership shared by these two elected politicians, who didn't philosophically agree:   "...it seems like a good time to reflect on Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill.  It would serve us well to understand how these very different politicians managed to temper their philosophical divide with a public, and sometimes personal, cordiality," wrote Matthews.

In other words, President Reagan and Speaker O'Neal worked together for the public good.  Although the two didn't agree much, they enjoyed mutual and national respect, leading to trust. 

Certainly, this isn't so with Speaker Boehner and his relationship with President Obama.  In contrast, Boehner's leadership of the US House has driven public opinion for the once dignified august House of Representatives into a walloping Gallop Poll rating of 79 percent disapproval!  Americans can't trust a politician who leads the Congress into a hole covered by public disdain.  

Speaker Boehner is harming American foreign policy by not supporting President Obama, especially when it makes patriotic and international good sense to do otherwise.  

Supporting President Obama's decision not to attend the summit with arrogant President Putin will do no harm to our nation or Speaker Boehner. As a matter of fact, the decision for President Obama not to attend the summit will likely save Americans a lot of tax money needed for travel security.  Support, rather than criticism, won't do any more harm to Speaker Boehner's image with Ohio Democrats, either.

It's really time Americans examine the qualifications of House Speaker John Boehner in the same way we ask to see the licenses of physicians who are treating patients for illness. Speaker Boehner's continuous obstruction of President Obama's agenda is unpatriotic and, therefore, doing more harm than good.

It's time to remove Speaker Boehner from his Congressional leadership position, because he's clearly doing us harm.  I have seen no evidence to the contrary.  There isn't a public initiative I can think of where Boehner's leadership has improved our nation's human condition.  

Boehner is not demonstrating the patriotic qualifications required to continue being Speaker of the House. My vote is to replace Boehner with somebody who garners respect.  Unfortunately, a Republican with qualifications required for this important leadership role seems, at this time, to be nonexistent.

Which may prove that the entire Republican Party needs to be sanctioned for political malpractice, until they can learn how to govern without doing more harm.  

Egyptian Zen Revisited and Renewed Street Violence in Cairo: Leadership Needed

Renewed Egyptian street demonstrations in Cairo are horrible deja vu images, reflective of those broadcast in February 2011, when I wrote my blog "Egyptian Zen", now revisited.

Egyptian Zen from Februay 11, 2011 

Egypt's brave people showed extraordinary resilience during their facebook revolution, rising up against 30 years of governmental tyranny. Therefore, I hope the Egyptians will kindly accept my Zen advice knowing it is offered with extreme admiration. Zen Buddhism is not my specialty, but having watched the movie Charlie Wilson's War recently, the character played by the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman tells a story worth repeating here. His character warns Congressman Wilson about the Zen of winning a war. 

I'm adapting the story to Egypt and it goes like this: "A young Egyptian boy gets a pony for his birthday. His village is so happy, they say 'isn't this good?'. But, the father says, 'We'll see'. So, later, the boy badly damages his leg when he falls off the pony. The village people say, 'this is not a good thing'. But the father says 'We'll see'. Then, Egypt goes to war with Israel in 1972, but the boy cannot serve because of his injured leg, so the village says 'this is a good thing'. But the father says, "We'll see". At the end of the story, the outcome of Charlie Wilson's War was not what he intended when he began his Congressional deal making. His victory was short lived. .....Moral of the story being ...."we'll see".

In other words, although the Egyptian people are justifiably exalted about their recent revolution to overturn a dictator, the unintended consequences and benefits are yet to be determined. To coin a sometimes overused cliche: "Freedom is Not Free". There may be a price yet to be paid for the people's victory....

Now, fast forward to June 2013:

Huge protests across Egypt calling for the resignation of President Mohammed Morsi have continued through the night, with sporadic outbreaks of violence.

In the capital, Cairo, tens of thousands of people have been massed in Tahrir Square and outside the presidential palace. They have vowed to stay on until Mr Morsi steps down.

At least one person was killed in clashes at Cairo's headquarters of the governing Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Four others died in clashes elsewhere.

Millions of protesters across the country accuse the country's first Islamist president of failing to tackle economic and security problems since taking power a year ago.

Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday saw the biggest demonstration since the 2011 revolution which ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Applying the concept of "we'll see" Egyptian Zen, what we now see is how the Arab Spring, which is the media term for the revolutionary wave of demonstrations that swept through the Middle East, has proven to be a Pandora's Box of troubles for affected nations.  Trusted leadership is needed.

When people revolt against tyranny, they need to have leaders in place to capture the momentum of their revolution.  We can look to South Africa's now gravely ill Nelson Mandela as an example.  India's Mahatma Gandi (1869-1948) was another.  Even Cuba's dictator Fidel Castro was inspired to seize the momentum of his people's revolution against the corrupt President Batista, who was overthrown.

Egyptians, Syrians and other Middle East countries struggling with their Pandora's Box of issues, unleashed by the Arab Spring, have yet to embrace an inspired leader who can move them forward.

Therefore, these Arab Spring nations will remain in a perpetual state of "Egyptian Zen" until they can see their way forward.  

There seems no end to the street violence and revolution now flooding through the Middle East like a tsunami.  

Inspired leadership is urgent.  Egypt needs leaders like the strong and iconic Pharaohs.  Otherwise, the nation where the roots of Western Civilization began, risks being absorbed by a massive dust storm and the Arab Spring will be as arid as the Sahara Desert.  

Syria Will Demand International Leadership from President Obama

Syria is escalating into a very dangerous international confrontation. Americans are now in a position where reacting to the urgent needs of Syrian rebels puts our nation face to face in a conflict with Russia.

The world has become a more dangerous place during the time Republicans have been creating angst about a ridiculous trio of "scandals". This is particularly so because the Syrian government is now receiving military aid from Russia- a situation that threatens Middle East stability with potentially awesome consequences.

This ominous Russian involvement calls for a leadership moment from President Obama. Although he's been challenged by a rigorous re-election campaign while, concurrently, providing supportive executive grief counseling for a series of national tragedies, these situations haven't summoned the leadership skills of a John F. Kennedy, during the Cuban Crisis. In my opinion, the escalating Syrian crises, complicated by Russian involvement, requires John F. Kennedy type of leadership action.

President Obama has extended several threats to the Syrian government, but the rebellion continues to look like a massacre of the insurgents, many of them are Christian martyrs.

Russian involvement in the Syrian war is a deliberate taunting of the US warnings against such actions. Apparently, the Russians are looking for a confrontation.  One has to wonder about their motivation for this antagonistic interference?  

Well, we're likely to find out soon, very soon, because the carnage in Syria is demanding accountability.  

President Obama has a chance to demonstrate executive leadership, while creating historic significance, by protecting Middle East stability. Hopefully, he's preparing himself by reading a lot about President John F. Kennedy, General Dwight David Eisenhower and Sir Winston Churchill.

Unfortunately, Syria may become the unlikely legacy President Obama will leave on his history. 

(June 4th twitter from Richard Engel:  At least 147 people whose bodies were found in #Aleppo’s river between Jan- March probably executed in govt-run areas, Human Rights Watch)

Eric Cantor Needs a Leadership Camp

United States Congressmen and Women are two year wonders.  Few people can remember a Congressman's name, even when they're holding office.  Once they leave office, they're as memorable as invisible ink.

Which is exactly why Congressman Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, needs to attend leadership camp.  As of now, Cantor's name generates negative political feelings for two reasons: (a) he's a Congressman participating in a governing organization with a 13 percent public approval rating, and (b) he's a wanna-be political leader who hasn't shown any positive leadership attributes. Yet, he sure knows how to stir up political noise.  Cantor knows how to whine about cutting the deficit, but shows no freshness about how his ideas are any better than failed past policies that simply drive down the standard of living for middle class Americans.  Cutting Medicare, for example, impacts on the quality of medical care for all Americans, reduces the number of jobs in health related industries and reneges on a promise to Social Security beneficiaries who expect their benefits when they reach 65 years of age.  Nevertheless, Cantor rails on how Medicare must be included in any deficit reducing initiative along with a menu of other progressive programs to support middle class and poor Americans. These deficit obsessions are not helping his political career. 

In the recently aired PBS Frontline documentary, "Cliffhanger", Congressman Cantor is portrayed as one of three young guns who can't seem to focus on a political target without shooting themselves in their feet.  Cantor, along with Congressman Paul Ryan and Congressman Kevin McCarthy, have made it their political obsession to undermine all progressive politics.  In so doing, they entirely miss the point on how to be leaders.  Rather than be confrontational and obstructionists, they should learn how to facilitate and bargain.  In learning how to be political leaders, rather than opportunists, who simply cause problems, Cantor and his aggressive colleagues should cloister themselves in a camp where they can study how to be constructive statesmen.

Following are my three leadership goals for Congressman Cantor and his ambitious colleagues:

1.  Leadership by example is always preferable to a display of aggressive ambition.  In other words, Congressman Cantor should call for cuts to his own salary and benefits before obsessing about entitlements that negatively impact on other people's quality of life.  

2.  Leadership by consensus is always preferable to forcing your own opinion on others.  In other words, Congressman Cantor should support House Speaker John Boehner rather than appear as though he wants to take him out to the wood shed if, in his opinion, he thinks the Leader misbehaves.  Congressman Cantor will never become Speaker of the House of Representatives if he continues to look as though he wants his political boss's job.

3.  Leadership with popular support carries a lot of clout, especially when circumstances or political winds take a proverbial sea turn.  Although Congressman Cantor was re-elected by his 7th district Virginia voters in 2012, a majority of Americans don't find him or his policies appealing.  Otherwise, the House of Representatives would have gained, rather than lost, seats in the 2012 election and President Obama would have been held to one term as Leader of the Free World.

If I were a counselor in the Eric Cantor leadership camp, I'd run movies about the lives of Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mother Theresa, Abraham Lincoln, Rev. Billy Graham, Hillary Clinton and Mahatma Gandhi, to name a few charismatic people, who will be held up as role models. Congressman Cantor would "pass" leadership camp if he identifies how each of them led by example, consensus and with popular support, especially during times of personal and political crises.

Meanwhile, Frontline's harsh documentary has cast a shadow on Congressman Cantor's future because he willingly allowed his ambition be aggressively characterized as one of three "young guns".  Not good karma for a man obsessed with having his own political way, regardless of how his opinions impacts others.  "Young gun" is too ambitious and harsh.  He'd have been better characterized as a "young change broker" (the gun image is increasingly unpopular).

But, leadership camp may not be worth the time and money. After all, will we remember Congressman Cantor's name when he's no longer in politics?  "For everything there is a season", is a poetic Old Testament Ecclesiastes reading. Surely, Congressman Cantor should take the time to read it.