One of the things you learn in business is that your success depends almost entirely on relationships, especially when times get tough.
Ask any salesperson what is the most important factor in success and he or she will tell you that the relationship with the person buying the product determines success more often than any other factor. People don't buy from companies; people buy from people they like.
The same can be said for politics, which essentially is nothing more than selling ideas and policies. In order to be successful at politics, one must be a great relationship builder. Successful Presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton knew they had to develop relationships with key members of Congress. President Reagan developed a relationship with House Speaker Tip O'Neill, while President Clinton developed a rapport with House Speaker Newt Gingrich. These politicians from the opposite ends of the political spectrum were never great friends, but they respected one another and invested the time necessary to develop working relationships. As a result of these relationships, both Presidents were able to pass bi-partisan legislation that helped America prosper.
Many people say that bi-partisanship is dead today, that the political right and the left are so polarized that nothing meaningful can be accomplished in Congress. The reality is that the efforts of our current President to develop relationships with key members of Congress have died, not the opportunity for bi-partisan cooperation.
President Barack Obama is a perfect example of how not to engage Congress in order to get meaningful legislation passed. He spoke of Hope and Change during the 2008 campaign, but once he was elected he began ramming his landmark healthcare legislation through Congress without taking any of the Republicans' ideas. He spent little energy soliciting their input, although passing a bi-partisan healthcare bill would have meant helping to mend a divided country. As the months turned into years, President Obama has spent less time meeting with Republicans and even key members of his own party, according to a number of credible sources. Instead of meeting regularly with Republicans in Congress, he has taken every opportunity to slam them, their party and their policies. The President actually admitted recently that he spends little time schmoozing with Congress because he wants to spend more time with his family. Yet, he blames the Republicans for not cooperating with him? With 23 million Americans out of work or underemployed, the President is apparently more focused on being home at dinner time with his daughters than meeting with Congress in order to create jobs for more Americans.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/02/politics/obama-fatherhood/index.html
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2012/09/09/give-obama-more-time-for-home-life.html
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/02/politics/obama-fatherhood/index.html
The recent book by Bob Woodward, "Price of Politics," details how few relationships the President had developed with Congress during the debt crisis of 2011. One example Woodward cites in his book is that no one in the White House had the cell phone number for House Speaker John Boehner, just as the country was on the brink of financial collapse. The nation's financial credibility and stability were heading off a cliff and the President did not have a number to reach Boehner? Incredible. Woodward describes the President as an arrogant, aloof politician who actually threw a tantrum like a spoiled brat when he didn't get his way. To be fair, the respected journalist does not describe Boehner in flattering terms, either. Boehner apparently took his time calling the President with his response after the President asked him to bring more tax revenue to the negotiating table.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/bob-woodwards-price-politics-inside-debt-crisis-17169408
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bob-woodward-gaps-president-obamas-leadership-contributed-debt/story?id=17183930
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/05/speed-read-juiciest-bits-from-bob-woodward-s-book-price-of-politics.html
Several weeks ago, while watching Fox News, one long-time political insider shared a story about talking with the leading Democratic member of one of the key Congressional committees. The pundit had asked the Congressman about the type of relationship he had with the President. The Congressman said that he had merely met him twice. The political expert could not believe that this respected leader of Congress had hardly spent any time with the President. According to a number of credible sources, top fundraisers and bundlers for his campaign seemingly have almost unlimited access to the President, but a leading member of Congress from the President's own party has barely met him? Unbelieveable.
The same lack of relationship-building expertise and effort that we have seen through the current Congressional stalemate can also be seen in relationships with leaders of other governments. Relationships with allies such as Great Britain and Israel have often been strained under this President. Instead of meeting with world leaders this past week when they were in New York for meetings at the U.N., our President met with the ladies of The View, who just happened to also be in New York. According to a number of news reports, he did not meet with a single world leader while they were in New York, even though the prime minister of our strongest ally in the middle east specifically asked to meet with the President. If he had developed strong relationships with these leaders, you would have to believe that he would make every attempt to meet with friends. Instead, he decided to spend his time visiting The View and campaigning for reelection.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/chuck-todd-questions-obama-not-meeting-with-world-leaders-doesnt-seem-like-a-defensible-position/
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/09/25/obama_advisor_if_he_met_with_one_leader_hed_have_to_meet_with_10
One of the best pieces of advice ever given to me was this: The best way to get your next job is to do a good job at your current one. Sadly, it appears that this is something our President never quite learned. He has spent the last four years campaigning for a second term or rushing home so he could have dinner with his daughters -- instead of putting forth the extra effort for Americans who elected him.
Based on his pathetic economic record and inability to develop strong relationships with our closest allies or even Congress, Americans should help the President do what he apparently sincerely wants to do -- spend more time with his family.
We can all help the President achieve this goal by voting him out of office on November 6. This is one achievement he truly deserves.
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