Oh Those Were the Days

Yesterday, I caught up with an old friend I had not seen since I retired 10 ½ years ago. After we exchanged the usual lies (you look the same) and pleasantries, we started comparing our workplace of yesteryear to what it is today. We were in high gear until his wife called and reminded him that he had a dentist appointment in 30 minutes. Wives, what would we do without them? Miss dentist appointments for one.

I reminded my old friend of how our company used to hire and promote within just about every month. Then I told him that for every five promotions a couple of them would be Hispanic. Every single time, someone in the crowd would call it another affirmative action promotion. One day, I approached the person who said that and asked him to tell me the difference between affirmative action and nepotism or the buddy- buddy system. He said one was a government mandate and to that I said, “well the other is a caste system.” He said that the most qualified person should be promoted, and then I reminded him of how many times he said that our white boss was not qualified, and we left it at that. On another occasion, I reminded a co-worker that without government contracts, we wouldn’t have a job.

My old friend then said “Mike, do you remember when we used to sit around in the break room talking about the things we were going to do on the weekend?” I said that some were going to sit around the house and wait for an overtime call, others were going to do chores and still others didn’t have any immediate plans. That’s when he reminded me of several part- time ranchers and full time co-workers, who used to brag of how much money they saved by hiring illegal immigrants (today’s illegal aliens) and how they encouraged them to bring their family because the more cheap labor the better. Those ranchers used to complain of how Americans no longer liked to get their hands dirty and work long hours. We laughed because that’s the reason we took the job we had.

I said that San Diego Mayor Bob Filner’s recent lawsuit against the city because he never got harassment training; reminded me of the classes we had on how to treat women in the workplace. Why does one need training on how to be a respectful human being? We all knew how to act, and if we had any doubts, we could easily ask our wives, daughters or sisters. We knew it was just a way insurance companies could protect themselves from a frivolous lawsuit. I have to admit. I was surprised that some men claimed they didn’t know where the line was that they shouldn’t cross.

We then had to acknowledge of  how lucky we were because we were the last groups to get an actual guaranteed pension and not just a 401k which is dependent on the market. We also got health care coverage as employees and retirees. We both agreed the latter is a lot more important than the pension or the 401ks we covered to IRAs. 

Yes, they make a lot more money now but I’d rather meet an old friend and talk about how it was, than what it’s going to be.

Leadership Qualities or Lack Thereof

The “Morning Joe” crew were sitting around the table responding to Gail Collins New York Times column this morning, where she blamed President Obama for being elected president after serving only two years in the Senate thus giving hope to a lot of new senators like Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio that they could do the same.

Two or three years in the Senate may be the new norm, as far as qualifications go in running for president because that means you haven’t been completely corrupted by Washington. A governor will come with the executive experience, but if they are from a one-party rule state, that experience will be negated.

I won’t argue the Obama inexperience factor but Democrats, and independents had plenty of time, venues, and information to see if he qualified to be president. It’s not like President Obama didn’t have competent competition. He eventually beat the Clinton political machine and then went on to beat a veteran statesman in John McCain.

Joe Scarborough said after 5 ½ years the president still doesn’t have the leadership qualities to lead this country. Joe said that Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Lyndon Johnson managed to push through legislation despite a rambunctious opposition. Nothing ever gets through to Joe’s brain because he doesn’t realize that it’s a different time and the methods that were used to sway votes in those eras are no longer available. Finally, someone on the panel said that the GOP leader, John Boehner, can’t get the tea party folks to budge on anything. Joe Scarborough eventually had to admit that Nancy Pelosi was a much more effective leader than John Boehner but then the segment went to a commercial break.

I don’t see how Joe Scarborough can say that President Obama doesn’t have leadership skills when he can’t name a single individual who can get the respect of both parties. He might think that Chris Christie can because he’s a governor of a blues state but wasn’t Mitt Romney in that same position? We’ll see how well Chris Christie does in Mississippi, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Iowa where you have to cater to the evangelicals and a take no prisoners’ base who thinks compromise is a dirty word.

History will eventually tell us what type of leadership qualities President Obama had. We’ll see how much credit he will get for stabilizing the economy after the recession, killing Bin Laden, passing health care reform, repealing “Don’t ask Don’t tell” and his final grade on the economy when he leaves office. President Obama did get the GOP to accept tax increases for the first time in decades; don’t know if that goes toward his leadership abilities.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
John Quincy Adams