Scott Brown's upset victory in Massachusetts represents a clear repudiation of the Obama Administration's policies and tactics. The guillotine of the MA election results also reinforces the fundamental notion that elected officials - be they Republican or Democrat or Independent - are not the sole repositories of wisdom and common sense in our country.
Successful political leaders have a history of being hands-off managers - willing to hire people smarter than themselves to create policy and to help make hard decisions. In a few instances, this technique has backfired, but not so often as to harm its value.
Presidents Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Truman and Reagan fit the quintessential profile of a delegator-in-chief, not a decider-in chief. These men understood they didn't have the answers themselves to the country's problems, and certainly appreciated the fact that government is of limited value in creating policy that might be beneficial.
Lincoln let Grant decide how to beat the Confederacy. His cabinet, as well known, were a mixed group of men who offered opinions quite different from the President's.
Teddy Roosevelt collected one the most talented and efficient group of advisors in the history of the United States government: Secretary of War Elihu Root, former Senator George Turner and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (also TR's best friend).
Harry Truman possessed a tremendous sense of "self". The former Vice President relied very heavily on Henry Stimson and James Byrnes in navigating the tumultuous waters of the post World War II world. While Stimson and Byrnes had been hired by FDR, Truman showed true wisdom by listening to these men. He was not intimidated by men a few notches above his intellect (a side note: my unsolicited opinion is that Truman is perhaps the greatest of recent Presidents as evidenced by his adroit decisions concerning world affairs and domestic policy).
Ronald Reagan, the ultimate hands-off manager, was burned a bit by the Iran-Contra scandal after being a little too hands-off. But for the balance of his presidency, the Gipper carefully considered the advice from an outside circle of advisors, including William French Smith, Charles Wick, Holmes Tuttle and Joseph Coors. These men were boot-strap successes in the business world - and terrific philanthropists.
Another interesting trait among TR, Truman and Reagan was that all three men were great "listeners". Each of them had the talent for being able to listen (and speak) to anyone, regardless of social status, race or religion. All three men knew the importance of keeping their ear to the ground. They observed the attitudes and expectations of the American public like a farmer watches the skies, or observes how the leaves begin turning. They didn't need a lightening bolt to hit the barn to tell them a storm was coming.
Our best leaders are those who admit to not knowing all the answers -- or pretending to know what is best for everyone and everything. In fact, the leaders who stand aside for the free market to operate and who encourage a full discussion of innovative ideas are the most popular and successful.
What is the role of the elected official? Why does a segment of the population wish to characterize the opinions of elected officials as anything more than suggestions? One theory holds that the "indispensable man" model is, in fact, a clever, neo-totalitarian method of convincing people of ideas and programs they really don't agree with, or haven't had a chance to fully contemplate -- all for the sake of a selfish, preening ideal of self importance.
I would submit that the White House's full field retreat on the health care reform battlefield is the result of a terrible case of "tin ear" never before demonstrated by a past administration on such a grand scale. The insular group of lawmakers, White House officials and special interest groups that hatched the reform bill did so while ignoring the real feelings of the electorate. Interestingly enough, I question the validity that there was ever a "feeling" regarding a huge expansion of the federal government's involvement with health care in the first place. There are bigger screw-jobs operating right now within this country and no one sees the pitchfork and torch crowd going after them...how about the schemes targeting our elderly parents or the newly immigrated? Congress should examine the most vulnerable before taking on hospitals, doctors and insurance companies. They're not perfect, but by gosh, we have a fantastic health care system in this country.
"The people's seat" as Scott Brown described it, could be the simple chair by your kitchen table -- where typical people sit and consider what really matters to them -- as their kids eat dinner, argue and laugh. It's nothing complicated -- despite what our elected officials would have you believe.
Matt Crow joined Reagan Administration in 1987; worked in both Bush 41 and 43 Administrations; plays to a 19 golf handicap and loves to vacation at the beach with his wife and children.
