Where Have All The Real Leaders Gone?

As the deadline of Tuesday looms large, and the possibility -- remote as it likely is -- of the country defaulting on its bills continues to exist (at least as of press time for TJOW), I have several thoughts, each more angry than the next.

1. Who are these people in Washington and what do they think they're doing with our money and our lives?

2. How much pain and suffering will more than a trillion dollars of cuts cause in an economy that is stagnate and fraught with high unemployment? (By the way, for those uncertain, this is a trillion dollars: $1,000,000,000,000. That's an awful lot of zeroes to have to cut from the budget.)

3. Did anyone in the House or the Senate study -- and pass -- arithmetic as a child? Asked another way, does anyone there know how to add? Since when does less income + less spending = more jobs? Maybe math works differently based on political party affiliation. You know, like science.

4. So, Social Security -- something we've all been forced to pay into our entire working lives -- is now considered an entitlement? Please.

5. Why is NO ONE talking about job creation?

6. So, this is what being held hostage feels like?

7. Is there a way to disband government and start fresh? How much does it cost to have Congress? Probably less than a trillion dollars, but not much.

8. Lastly, and most importantly, where have all the real leaders gone?

What we and the entire world are watching, live and in living color, is a train wreck. A train wreck of magnificent proportions. A train wreck of such staggering power that it will likely prevent significant economic growth for years.

And, no, we're not talking politics here (as much as I'd love to, especially since I believe we're watching the emergence of a third political party). Instead, this is about leadership. Or, in this case, the complete and utter absence of sound, effective, decisive leadership.

Where have all the real leaders gone?

You know of what I speak: The leader who defines an ambitious goal, engages people in the pursuit of that goal, and works tirelessly to achieve it. The leader who lets nothing and no one prevent achievement of that goal. The leader who captures our attention, our imagination, our admiration and, often, our heart. The leader who, with support from others, gets it done.

In this train-wreck of a situation, there's not a leader to be found. Instead, all we have is carnage.

Mr. President, this blog is for you.

Mr. President, you had a wonderful chance last week. There, before the nation (or anyone not watching Dancing With The Stars or whatever was on during your brief address), you could have explained the situation with brutal clarity and defined in a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners way what you believed must happen to resolve this mess. To some degree, you did the first part. But on the second, Mr President, you whiffed. By a mile.

We know what you wanted to say. We could see it in your eyes: Increase the debt ceiling. No budget cuts while the economy is still struggling to right itself. (Actually, our vote is to increase spending to stimulate the economy, but that's somewhat beside the point.) No tax cuts. You could have explained why this is the best solution, even if it's contentious to many.

See, that's what real leaders do. They live by their convictions, not by the convictions of others. They do what they believe to be right. Even if unpopular.

And then, Mr. President, you could have done something truly remarkable. Something that would have captured our imagination, to be sure. Something bold, something honorable. Something a real leader would do. (And something suggested to me by that great political thinker and man about town, Jean-Paul Gressieux.) Mr. President, you could have then offered to not run for reelection had your proposal been passed by Congress.

A selfless act of courageous leadership. Standing by and for your convictions, by what you believe to be right for the country. Assuming, of course, that you do have convictions when it comes to the economy.

You could have changed the entire conversation. Instead of the debate being political -- with the Republicans and Tea Partiers eager to see you dethroned -- you could have made it a discussion about growing the economy. Imagine that.

You could have put the well-being of your people ahead of everything. You could have short-circuited the rhetoric of your adversaries. You could have changed the game.

That's leadership.

This, on the other hand, is a train wreck.