"Obama tops 'worst US president' list - AFP Wednesday, Jul 02, 2014
WASHINGTON - A new poll Wednesday found President Barack Obama, who is enduring a tough second term, topping a list of the worst US leaders since World War II.
The survey, by the polling institute at Quinnipiac University, revealed that 33 per cent of those asked saw Obama as the worst leader in the last 70 years. Twenty-eight per cent picked his predecessor, Republican George W. Bush.
Quinnipiac said that 35 per cent saw Republican Ronald Reagan, president from 1981 to 1989, as the best US leader since 1945, with 18 per cent choosing Bill Clinton and 15 per cent going for the assassinated John F. Kennedy.
The survey was conducted between June 20-24 among 1,446 registered voters and has a plus or minus margin of error of 2.6 percentage points."
DOES it MATTERS?
Lessons for me are:
1. when you have made history, you should just go ahead and DO what you know are the RIGHT THINGS to do for the nation! Controversial or unpopular does not matter! This is especially so in a democratic voting system as YOU cannot be elected again after the allowed 2-term in the USA. The same should apply to ANY government leader who KNOWS his time is up. In these times, the LEADER can be freed from 'internal politics' and 'obligations' and just focused on DOING the RIGHT THINGS that will yield LONG TERM positive effects beyond his/her terms of office!;
2. as Mr Lee Kuan Yew famously declared: 'I am not here to win a popularity contest!', visionary leaders who can marshalled his/her peers and followers to work whole-heartedly and single-mindedly on some aligned common goals, great results are foregone conclusion. If the 'bitter medicines that will bring longer term benefits are NOT being appreciated by today's crowd, the communication machines simply need to go into overdrive. Helping people see what they don't understand are what great leaders do!;
3. in recent months, PM Lee's PR team seems to be going into overdrive too to project a certain 'people PM' image for him. e.g. the queuing for hawker's food, the early morning watching of World Cup match at the Community Center, etc. While these are great initiatives, 'winning popularity' is STILL not PAP's way. Helping the more discerning or demanding voters to understand the policies, especially when the insights are NOT easily understood by these discerning and demanding voters let alone the ordinary voters, should be the focus. Of course, you cannot 'win' an argument, which I prefer to frame it as 'a point of view', by insisting that others are wrong. You just present the evidence upon which you come to a certain conclusion. That's that. The people will have to understand them and ask questions to clarify if they do not. A one day event will be suffice for this purposes.
The survey, by the polling institute at Quinnipiac University, revealed that 33 per cent of those asked saw Obama as the worst leader in the last 70 years. Twenty-eight per cent picked his predecessor, Republican George W. Bush.
Quinnipiac said that 35 per cent saw Republican Ronald Reagan, president from 1981 to 1989, as the best US leader since 1945, with 18 per cent choosing Bill Clinton and 15 per cent going for the assassinated John F. Kennedy.
The survey was conducted between June 20-24 among 1,446 registered voters and has a plus or minus margin of error of 2.6 percentage points."
DOES it MATTERS?
Lessons for me are:
1. when you have made history, you should just go ahead and DO what you know are the RIGHT THINGS to do for the nation! Controversial or unpopular does not matter! This is especially so in a democratic voting system as YOU cannot be elected again after the allowed 2-term in the USA. The same should apply to ANY government leader who KNOWS his time is up. In these times, the LEADER can be freed from 'internal politics' and 'obligations' and just focused on DOING the RIGHT THINGS that will yield LONG TERM positive effects beyond his/her terms of office!;
2. as Mr Lee Kuan Yew famously declared: 'I am not here to win a popularity contest!', visionary leaders who can marshalled his/her peers and followers to work whole-heartedly and single-mindedly on some aligned common goals, great results are foregone conclusion. If the 'bitter medicines that will bring longer term benefits are NOT being appreciated by today's crowd, the communication machines simply need to go into overdrive. Helping people see what they don't understand are what great leaders do!;
3. in recent months, PM Lee's PR team seems to be going into overdrive too to project a certain 'people PM' image for him. e.g. the queuing for hawker's food, the early morning watching of World Cup match at the Community Center, etc. While these are great initiatives, 'winning popularity' is STILL not PAP's way. Helping the more discerning or demanding voters to understand the policies, especially when the insights are NOT easily understood by these discerning and demanding voters let alone the ordinary voters, should be the focus. Of course, you cannot 'win' an argument, which I prefer to frame it as 'a point of view', by insisting that others are wrong. You just present the evidence upon which you come to a certain conclusion. That's that. The people will have to understand them and ask questions to clarify if they do not. A one day event will be suffice for this purposes.
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