[Guest Editor: Robert J. Kulak]

Ruminations, September 28, 2008

And my greatest weakness is…

Employment councilors will tell you to prepare for a job interview by anticipating the questions you will be asked and preparing answers. The interviewer will ask the interviewee for strengths and the interviewee will dutifully identify several and back them up with specific achievements.

Then comes the next question: what is your greatest weakness? The employment councilor will tell you to say something like, “I work too hard” or “I’m too conscientious.” Naturally, unless he or she just fell off the turnip truck, the interviewer knows that you’ve prepared this answer and ignores it.

As an interviewer, several years ago I came across a way that helps determine an individual’s greatest weakness without asking the question. An individual’s greatest weakness is usually the greatest strength taken to an extreme. If you are really good at something, you tend to do it as often as you can – even when something else may be better suited. For example, if some one says “my greatest strength is that I’m a people person,” they may tend ignore procedures and project objectives when it conflicts with getting along with people. If someone tells you that they always see the big picture and see the potential implication of outside factors, they may not see the detail and may over-complicate a project by seeing too many outside factors. I’m not saying that the people in these examples shouldn’t be hired. Organizations need “big picture” and “people” persons. I’m just pointing out that, while we all have weaknesses, this is a way of determining the possible weaknesses of the people in the examples.

One of Barack Obama’s greatest strengths is his verbal ability; his ability to stand in public and discuss at length the issues at hand. Because he is good at it and because so many people have told him that he is really good at it, Obama tends to do it as much as he can – even when brevity may better suited.

Last week, this came to mind when Obama held a press conference. John McCain had just announced that he had suspended his campaign and planned to postpone the first presidential debate. Everyone wanted to know what Obama would do. Obama made an opening statement that lasted almost three minutes. At the statement’s conclusion, we still didn’t know what his position on the debate would be. So the first question from the press was, “Do you plan on attending the debate on Friday?”

Obama’s answer was that he thought the debates were important but it still was not a definitive answer. So the next question sought clarification. And Obama talked for another three minutes or so.

Obama took a couple more questions on the subject and then a reporter asked, “Will this debate go forward?”

One of Obama’s greatest weaknesses is that his rhetorical skills are so good, he will talk forever and, the longer he can avoid a direct answer, the longer he can talk. Remember The Saddleback Forum where the Reverend Rick Warren asked both Barack Obama and John McCain: “At what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?”

Obama talked around the subject and concluded that the answer was, in his “view,” above his “pay grade.” McCain’s answer was to the point: “At conception.” I am not making the point that either McCain or Obama has an acceptable or correct view, but that McCain’s answer was to the point. Everyone watching knows where he stands. Obama’s answer was circumloquatious; he took a long time to get to his point and when he finally did, you weren’t quite sure what it was.

At times, Obama’s rhetoric can be elegant and spellbinding. It is one of his greatest strengths and can be pure joy to hear. But his campaign managers need to take him in hand. His greatest weakness could become his downfall.

Learning from former presidents
Former presidents always remain partisan but nonetheless have an objective feel for what the job of the president entails. Their observations are generally thoughtful.

Bill Clinton recently observed that nothing prepares a person for the presidency. Being vice president for eight years doesn’t prepare you anymore for the presidency than being a governor or a senator. He put the magnitude of the job and its responsibilities in perspective.

A couple of years ago, Clinton said that every president, within his first year, will face a crisis that he had not anticipated or had been prepared. His point, I believe, is that you should not place too much faith in campaign promises and put more faith in the character of the individual candidate.

Last week, midst the unwarranted criticism that many of Sarah Palin’s opponents have been directed at her (e.g., Saturday Night Live’s skit on incest in her family, newspapers misrepresenting her positions on evolution), Clinton commented on Sarah Palin in a positive light. Clinton likes her and likes her family.

“My view is,” Clinton said, “why say, ever, anything bad about a person? Why don't we like them and celebrate them and be happy for her elevation to the ticket? And just say that she was a good choice for [McCain] and we disagree with them?"

Why not?

Palin and women voters
Since Sarah Palin’s selection as the Republican’s candidate for vice president, there has been a rash of letters to the editor by women stating that Palin will not attract feminists, female Clinton supporters or most women. If this is so, why are these women writing?

The reason all these women are writing is because they want to dissuade feminists, female Clinton supporters and most women from supporting Palin and McCain.

Will Palin attract feminists, female Clinton supporters or more women in general? Some. And the more letter writers you see, the more indicative it is that her candidacy is having an effect. Otherwise, her opponents would lay down their pens and let Republicans delude themselves while women voted against them.

Quote without Comment
Representative Alcee Hastings (D, FL) at a panel about the shared agenda of Jewish and African-American Democrats, speaking on Republican vice president nominee Sarah Palin: "Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks."

 
Robert J. Kulak
West Hartford, Connecticut