Where have all our leaders gone?

Lee Iacocca, former Chrysler chairman and one of the greatest corporate leaders of our time, once said, “We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.”
Well Lee, welcome to 2008! Where are you and your kind when America desperately needs you?
Lee, now in his 80s, is upset and rightfully so. He understands the critical importance of leadership and has recently written a book, “Where have all the leaders gone?”
Before our recent financial bailout fiasco he wrote, “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 the bums out!”
I haven’t heard anything like that coming from main-stream media, the so-called “debates,” or the candidates themselves. Lee Iacocca is right… again.
He goes on. “I hardly recognize this country anymore. 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 (thanks, but I don't need it). 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 America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?”
I can only imagine what Lee would think today as our government takes over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. After all, he once said, “One of the things the government can't do is run anything. The only things our government runs are the post office and the railroads, and both of them are bankrupt.”
When corporate CEOs and high-ranking officers are taking millions from their companies that are losing billions, remember how Lee once reduced his salary at Chrysler to one dollar to help save his company. What would he say about AIG,  two weeks after getting assurance from our government of an $85 billion bailout, they head to a posh resort with $1,000 a night rooms and spent over $400,000 dollars at a sales meeting! They racked up over $100,000 in spa treatments alone! Those AIG employees should immediately pay that money back and issue a national apology to every single taxpayer in the United States!
So Iacocca’s question, “Where have all the leaders gone?” might well be answered by checking the hotel registers at exclusive resorts or the guest lists at the lobbyists’ favorite off shore hangouts. Lee, look there. Chances are you will find today’s leaders, but I doubt you would refer to them as such.
As we get ready to go to the polls and elect a new president and most likely re-elect all those idiots in Congress, keep in mind these words from Iacocca’s book.
“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.
“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 bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?”
You think Lee Iacocca is upset? He is and we should be. He goes on …
“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 1970s 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. 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 horsesh** and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had enough.”

Lee, we miss you on the national scene. Where have all the leaders gone?

Contact greg.awtry@yorknewstimes.com