Lee Iacocca Says:

oldnbald · January 07, 2008 18:33

Lee Iacocca Says:

"Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with
what's happening?
Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming
bloody murder.
We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship
of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate
gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean
up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But
instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods
their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the
course"

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is
America,
not the damned "Titanic". I'll give you a sound bite:
"Throw all the bums out!"

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off
my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak
up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

The most famous business leaders are not the
innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're
fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and
nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is
waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions.
That's not the promise of the "America" my parents and
yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough.
How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a
patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm
ready and willing to have.

The Biggest "C" is Crisis !

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in
times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your
feet up on the desk and talk theory.
Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've
never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing
to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more
than any other time in our history. We needed a steady
hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of a Mess

So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody
war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving.
We're running the biggest deficit in the history of
the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to
Asia, while our once-great companies are getting
slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are
skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent
energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders
are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed
every which way These are times that cry out for
leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where
have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious,
creative communicators? Where are the people of
character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and
common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but
I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland
security than making us take off our shoes in airports
and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of
dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we
know how to do is react to things that have already
happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of
Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single
day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or
demanding accountability for the decisions that were
made in the crucial hours after the storm. "Great job
Brownie, you've got to be kidding."

Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it
doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms
happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what
you're going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively
about how we can restore our competitive edge in
manufacturing. Who would have believed that there
could ever be a time when "The Big Three" referred to
Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more
important, what are we going to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan
for paying down the debt, or solving the energy
crisis, or managing the health care problem. The
silence is deafening. But these are the crises that
are eating away at our country and milking the middle
class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect
you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain
silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our
greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is
everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News
will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you
guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough?

Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom
here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out
because I have hope I believe in America.

In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living
through some of America's greatest moments. I've also
experienced some of our worst crises: the "Great
Depression", "World War II", the "Korean War", the
"Kennedy Assassination", the "Vietnam War", the 1970's
oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's
this:

"You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines
waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's
building a better car or building a better future for
our children, we all have a role to play. That's the
challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to
"Action" for people who, like me, believe in America.
It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So
let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell
'em all we've had "enough."

Excerpted from "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?".
Copyright (c) 2007 by Lee Iacocca. All rights
reserved.

Lee Iacocca Says:

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