By DR. LARRY MOSES

No One Asked Me But I have just completed reading two books written by two men who served American presidents as their National Security Advisor. One, John Bolton, came from a career in the Washington, D.C. bureaucracy. The other, Colin Powell, from a career in the American military.

When John Bolton left the position of National Security Advisor to President Trump he did so in the mood of vengeance against what he perceived to be an unstable and incompetent leader.President Trump in his never-let-a-criticism-go-unanswered manner helped Mr. Bolton sell his book entitled The Room Where it Happened.

If indeed you are looking for something new or insightful, I would suggest you skip this book. There is nothing there that you have not already heard 100 times on CNN or CNBC.

Mr. Bolton did, however, confirm for me the fact that elected officials in Washington have not run the country for years. According to Mr. Bolton, President Trumps major fault was that he refused to merely rubber stamp the actions of the professional bureaucrats who have run the country.

Abraham Lincoln faced an issue with his cabinet when they all voted against the presidents proposal. President Lincoln said I vote aye. That is seven nays and one aye. The aye has it.

This is not the leadership desired by profession bureaucrats. Those who watched the recent impeachment hearings saw that the complaints of the bureaucrats who testified were not of any criminal activity on the part of President Trump but that he refused to do as the bureaucats told him.

If you are interested in how a real leader thinks, you will enjoy Colin Powells book My American Journey. Most of the rest of this column is made up of examples of the wisdom of Colin Powell. This wisdom led to his gaining the highest military rank in America and becoming the confidant of numerous presidents.

While these are the words of Colin Powell, I like to think they reflect the leadership principles I followed in the rather lowly leadership positions I have filled in my life. If this is true, it may well be due to the fact that we both learned our leadership qualities in the American military.

It is important to find ways to make individuals feel important and part of something larger than themselves. Therefore, traditions and rituals remain essential for they instill a sense of belonging and importance in these people. However, being in charge means making decisions, no matter how unpleasant. If its broke fix it. being in charge means sometimes making people mad.

Gen. Powell states: Incompetence, corruption, and flashy dress seems to increase as a direct ratio to rank. dont be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world. Dont be afraid to challenge the pros Moments of stress, confusion, and fatigue are exactly when mistakes happen. people want to share your confidence, however thin, not your turmoil, however real.

We elect a President to run the country, but Presidents soon discover that they dont necessarily control the machinery of government. Their wishes are often thwarted due to the fact that as President Franklin Roosevelt observed: the federal bureaucracy is a huge beast: you kick it in the tail and two years later it feels the sensation in the brain.

When confronted with bureaucratic nonsense Gen. Powell advised one should fulfill those requirements with a minimum of effort and then go on with the things that really matter. Dont wrestle with the pig, the pig has fun and you just get dirty. Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than management says is possible.

Gen. Powell advises that, Bad news in not like wine; it does not get better with age. Loyalty means giving the leader advice even if he doesnt like it. If he accepts the advice fine; if not, once a decision is made loyalty means executing the decision as if it were your own.

Something the CCSD leadership should learn is: The field commander is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proven otherwise. The field commander is on the scene, feeling the terrain, directing troops, facing and judging the enemy.

The quote below explains Colin Powells political philosophy and explains why I would vote for him: I am a fiscal conservative with a social conscience. Neither of the two parties fits me comfortablyI am troubled by the political passion of the extreme right I am put off by extreme liberals who claim to know what is best for society but devote little thought to who will eventually pay the bills. I distrust rigid ideology from any direction the time may be at hand for a third major party to emerge to represent this sensible center of the American political spectrum.

Explaining why he is not interested in getting involved in the present political world, he states:I feel that civility is being driven from our political discourse. Attack ads and negative campaigns produce destructivedebate. television and radio talk shows, and print media chasing afteraudiencesdisplaces reasoned dialogue. any public figure espousing a controversial idea can expect to have not just the idea attacked but his or her integrity. And Lord help anyone who strays from accepted ideas of political correctness.(they) will be met with cries that the offender be fired Mr. Powell indicates we seem to have lost our sense of shame as a society.

What is his answer to these problems? We have to start thinking of America as a family. start caring for, sacrificing for, and sharing with each other. stop constantly criticizing.get back to the can-do attitude that made America.

These are the qualities I would like to see in our next President, and presently, I do not see any candidate that will fill those hopes and dreams for the America that I love.

If you think the riotous minority that are burning our cities and murdering our inner city residents are not a threat to America let me remind you that the revolution that established this country was supported by less than one third of the people in the colonies at the time.

While the majority of the law abiding American citizens quietly stand by, they may very well see the country where they grew up disappear.

Thought of the week The only thing that saves us from bureaucracy is its inefficiency. Eugene McCarthy

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No One Asked Me But (July 29, 2020) - mvprogress