Maybe the time has come to think a little more about how we chose our government leaders: All our government leaders.

Business corporations are not without their murky side (to put it mildly) but eventually the pressures of the marketplace tend to ensure that incompetence will be detected. One early warning sign is an unsatisfactory profit trend (though such results can be, and are, fiddled) but the definitive warning sign – albeit, delivered a little late in the day - is when the corporation in question runs out of cash.

That simple signal tends to get everyone’s attention. It is one of the wonders of capitalism – a genuinely self-correcting mechanism if operated properly (a major qualification which I will comment on some other time).

The trouble with government is that it does not have a readily recognizable built in self-correcting mechanism so it is not only possible, but common, for all kinds of charlatans and idiots to reach high office and there wreak havoc on the wellbeing of the public while, at the same time, using public funds – our money - to keep themselves in power. A creature from outer space, on a fact-finding trip, might well find this an odd situation but such is, indeed, the reality of how most advanced Earth democracies operate. Still, the creature might well note that some Earth countries function rather better than others.

He might then tend to look at the United States of America and wonder what the Vulcan mind-meld was going on!

We seem to have a leadership and competence crisis – ideally the two should be related - which stretches from the presidency to the generals to the Bol Weevil Directorate (if it does not exist, it will soon); and it shows every sign of getting much, much, much, much worse. Mediocrities employ and promote even greater mediocrities (because they don’t want to be shown up by smart asses) in a cycle which makes no small contribution to the dumbing down of America.

But, already I can hear your patriotic sensibilities cutting in: “America is the richest and strongest country in the World,” you are crying.

“Well, we could also be in the running for the title of ‘The World’s Most Incompetent Nation,” I could reply – but I am too polite. That said, I would like to submit a few modest offerings to support my incompetent leadership thesis – which is another way of saying that a truly alarming number of branches of the US Government seem to be run by people who don’t know how many legs to place in one half of a pair of pajama bottoms; and even when prompted, they are totally baffled by the issue of how many toes to insert.

But, let me return to my very brief listing of supportive facts. For further data, look no further than the daily news.

The state of the Presidency:

Exhibit #1 President George W. Bush. Do I need to say any more? I think not. Still, I think it is worth noting: that a budget surplus has been turned into a massive budget deficit on his watch; that oil was under $30 when he was elected – and is now over $70; that he has no energy policy worthy of the name; that he has done more damage to the global environment than Saddam Hussein; that he has no infrastructure policy; that the poor have become poorer each and every year he has been in power; and that his running of the invasion of Iraq – carried out for specious reasons – has been a demonstration of incompetence and callousness under more headings than one might care to name. And now he has the distinction of being the first American president to preside over the loss of a complete American city.

The conduct of the War In Iraq:

One might be tempted to blame Commander-In-Chief, President George W. Bush for all the deficiencies in the conduct of the Iraqi War, but it is doubtful that he is sufficiently competent – in an executive sense – to have caused such a series of disasters by himself. Here, he was well assisted by Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and by an Army Leadership, led by CENTCOM Combatant Commander, General Abizaid, whose performance has been consistently inadequate. The point here is that an exercise to remove a tyrant – albeit for the wrong reasons – did not have to turn into a brutal and ineffective occupation. Though a series of bad decisions and incompetent leadership we turned ourselves from liberators into occupiers. In effect we created the situation that we are now attempting to resolve at enormous cost in blood, misery, money and despair. And there is still no end in sight.

The conduct of the War On Terror:

The objectives of the War On Terror were fairly simple. We were to either bring to justice or kill those responsible – and make the Homeland secure to prevent anything like 9/11 happening in the future.

Four years later, Osama Bin Laden is still free, the restoration of Afghanistan has been neglected because of the focus on Iraq, we have earned the contempt of much of the World, and Homeland Security is a mess: air cargo still is not checked; our ports are not remotely secure; the Mexican border remains wide open; and, as to our capability in the event of a major terrorist attack, consider the reaction to Hurricane Katrina – and weep.

The state of US Government agencies:

After 9/11 there was a spontaneous pulling together of the nation coupled with virtually blind support for the institutions of government.

Subsequently, we have learned through a series of well documented reports that our blind faith in government was decidedly less than justified and four years after 9/11 it is becoming clear that, despite the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars of our money, the overall situation has not improved to an extent remotely commensurate with the expenditures involved. Reflect that after close to a quarter of a century, NASA still has not been able to sort out the problems with the space shuttle. Reflect that Homeland Security has a budget of $41.1 billion for FY2006 and look at its current performance in relation to Hurricane Katrina – and cringe. Then reflect that our border with Mexico remains, four years after 9/11, close to wide open.

The question of why we have so many lousy leaders running our government has to be asked; and answered.

As I have written before, when writing about the inadequacies in the Army General Officer Corps, leadership matters. However, the Army does not have a monopoly on that requirement. The self evident truth is that leadership matters in every walk of life.

But here I am writing about the need for true and effective leadership in government – the government of the United States of America - where special factors such as the sheer scale of the enterprises to be led, and politics, are involved.

And the question is: Why do we have so many poor leaders in government at this time?

Here is what I think.

Party loyalty rules:

Patronage – defined as “The power to distribute or appoint people to governmental or political positions” – is fundamental to the US party system and has probably been around since we lived in caves. Nonetheless, it is a highly dubious practice if party loyalty is regarded as the main attribute leading to selection as seems to be the case far too often – particularly where the Bush Administration is concerned. If competence and character are not regarded as fundamental requirements we are on a slippery slope right there.

Careerism is endemic:

Careerism is the curse of the military though, regrettably, certainly not confined to them. It means, in essence, putting one’s career ahead of the mission – including sacrificing one’s integrity in the interests of expediency. It is a pattern of behavior which tends to stultify initiative because advocating change, or doing anything different from the norm, might upset one’s superiors. It tends to breed an obsession with appearance ahead of substance – “Looking good ahead of doing good.” Careerists typically rise on the coat tails of a mentor and will do everything necessary to please that mentor. In turn, as they advance, they acquire their own entourages of servile, ambitious hangers-on. It is a very dangerous cycle because it is self perpetuating and absolutely antithecal to people of character. It is also extraordinarily hard to eliminate because careerism works so well. Careerists do get to the top – at great disadvantage to the public weal. Look no further than the conduct of the war in Iraq to see careerism in action.

Sycophancy is normal:

Leaders of character typically loathe sycophants because, apart from the crassness of such behavior – defined as “fawning obsequiousness” - it means they are being told only what they want to hear as opposed to what they need to hear. However, sycophants are more the norm than the exception in government. You can often pick them out during photo-ops and press conferences. They constitute the rows behind the Public Figure – slightly out of focus, but secure that their turn will come. It normally does, and therein lies the problem.

Cronyism is rife:

My dictionary defines ‘cronyism’ rather succinctly as: “Favoritism shown to old friends without regard for their qualifications, as in political appointments to office.” Hard to top that explanation. Absolutely rife in the military where, currently, competence at general officer level does not seem to be a requirement. Is that damming or what!

Dumbed-down America may be reaching the upper echelons:

There is great debate about whether dumbing-down is really taking place in this country. Personally, I think we probably have as much innate talent as ever, though I have strong doubts as to whether it is developed as well as it used to be. Given that the brain needs exercise as much as the body, albeit of a different sort, that is not a good thing. For instance, children used to be brought up to be much more self reliant whereas today they are scheduled and confined to an extent that does little to encourage initiative. As to the US school system, the last thing it encourages is independence of mind; and it is academically awful (as international comparisons demonstrate again and again).

There is a belief that the high quality of US Third Level education compensates for the crassness of the school system – but I have strong doubts as to its validity. Now clearly there are many excellent Third Level institutions, but overall I notice a pervasive tendency to train rather than to educate. As a consequence, we are producing large numbers of degree holders who know their own specialties well, sometimes brilliantly, but who lack the ability and intellectual curiosity to think creatively outside their areas of expertise.

I call them ‘Professional illiterates.’ They are disturbingly common.

The Rise of ‘The Cheating Culture: Why More American Are Doing Wrong To Get Ahead:’

I am prompted to include this observation after reading an extraordinary book of that name by David Callahan. In it, and it is a remarkably calm and reasoned book, he makes a persuasive case that America’s winner-take-all society has created an imperative to get ahead at virtually any cost to the point where America is losing its moral compass. A corollary of that claim is that far too many of our leaders have secured their high positions by cheating or deception; and that they lack a moral compass.

Conclusion:

This is such an important issue that I don’t want to suggest I have any answers. I just want to define the problem, illuminate it a little and recommend that we think about it a great deal more.

The underlying point is that the consequences of bad leadership in government are so disastrous. Inadequate leaders with big egos have a tendency to lead us into famine, flood, pestilence and war – which, for many, adds up to destruction.

Right now, President George W. Bush seems to be right on target.

We have every right to feel very afraid.