Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Faithful Democrats

Home
Politics and Religion
Lee Iococca: “Throw the Bums Out!”

Lee Iococca: “Throw the Bums Out!”

Last updated on: May 9, 2013 at 6:07 am by Faithful Democrats

Lee Iococca: “Throw the Bums Out!” 2013-05-09T06:07:38-06:00 Faithful Democrats

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In light of that, let's bump Obama up to a B on the Iococca index…

He may be 82 years old, but he hasn't lost the old P andV! Lee Iococca, creator of the populist1964½ Ford Mustang and bail-out genius of Chrysler Corp., has sprinkled aboutsome salty observations worth adding to the national archive of pithy wisdom.

Granted, his observations are a year old, having been extracted from his 2007 release, "WhereHave All the Leaders Gone?" Who couldhave guessed that they would become spot-on as we find ourselves beingbombarded by "Hope," "Experience "and "Stay-the-Course" in pursuit of the seatof honor in the Oval Office?

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our courage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state 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 the bums out![1]

In light of John McCain's endorsement today of HillaryClinton as his opponent in November (DrudgeReport, Mon Apr 14 2008 10:46:19 ET), we can scratch two, it would seem.

Assuming that in thisround Jesse Ventura opts to pass and Ralph Nader fails to recover his luster,the agent of "Change" has neatly positioned himself under the microscope of theIacocca index.

Let's see if he measures up.

"The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy…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."[2]

On those three measures, we'll give Obama a grade of C, Band C, or a collective C+. Moving on,

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.[3]

On these three, we'll give Obama a B, C, B+, or a collectiveB.

This next one hits us minions where we live, while thepoliticos never have to experience a security line at an airport.

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.[4]

Homeland security is what happened when our government gotcaught with its pants down by failing to respond to the intelligence report ofa pack of immigrants attending flight school in Florida.

About as close as Obama has come to addressing this colossalbungle is to cosponsor the extension of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.The Act provides important protections to real estate in potentially vulnerablecities such as Chicago. We'll give him a D.

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's everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?[5]

Let's give Obama an A on that one.

There are probably many more choice indicators on theIococca index of cahonas , but these will suffice for now.

Averaging the four scores, Obama gets a B- on the Iococcaindex going in. Actually, that is veryencouraging, considering that the one presently occupying the White House beganwith a C- and spiraled downhill from there. Perhaps a B- is gutsy enough to move us in the right direction for a"Change."

As a parting shot, Iococca has this to say about our currentPresident, whom he endorsed for the first term:

George Bush prides himself on never changing, even as the world around him is spinning out of control. God forbid someone should accuse him of flip-flopping. There's a disturbing messianic fervor to his certainty.

Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.[6]

In light of that, let's bump Obama up to a B.

[1] http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/10476.html

[2] Ibid.

[3]http://www.deeshaa.org/2008/02/19/lee-iacocca-on-leadership/

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070412/POLITICS/704120383

Featured Writers

Previous Post

April 10, 2008

Fw: What a black columnist has to say about Obama

Next Post

April 18, 2008 Profile: Meet Mike Waltner

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Us About Us Action Center Advertise Ask a Theologian Ask a Theologian Blogs Books Campaign Blog Candidate Spotlights Commentary Donate Facebook Featured Writers Fellows Fellows From the Pulpit General Information Hillary Clinton Interfaith Blog Latest Media Center Media Center Media Center MyBlog MyBlog News Newsflash Newsflashes Our Team Reader Blogs RSS Sermon of the Week Shop Social Networking Static Items Support Talking Points Test blogs The Basics Theology Uncategorized YouTube

Select a Month November 2020 October 2020 February 2020 August 2019 July 2018 July 2017 March 2017 February 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 January 2006 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which book follows Proverbs in the Old Testament?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Psalms Song of Solomon Isaiah Ecclesiastes