It must be difficult to hold a significant (or perhaps even an insignificant) position of power and conduct oneself with modesty. A lack of humility may not prohibit acts of social conscience and generosity, but it frequently results in boorishness.<\/p>\n
Self-aggrandizement does not necessarily prohibit someone from having sound judgment. Autobiographies by two recently retired governors of industrial states illustrate the point. Jennifer Granholm was governor of Michigan from 2003 \u2013 2011 and apparently did a remarkable job against significant odds in rejuvenating the automobile industry in what was once the world\u2019s capital of car manufacturing. She was not hurt that, in the final years of her administration, she had significant support from President Barack Obama. He was intent on seeing one of America\u2019s largest industries recover from the economic hardship that had been inflicted upon the country during the George W. Bush years.<\/p>\n
While Granholm acknowledges that that she did not handle every obstacle with aplomb and made her share of mistakes, she was somewhat self-indulgent about the successes of her staff and herself. Perhaps as the governor of a large state that was suffering from economic hardships best depicted by filmmaker Michael Moore, she was entitled to be self-congratulatory.<\/p>\n
Since she received considerable assistance from President Obama and Vice-President Biden,\u00a0 she had very little reason to criticize them.<\/p>\n
Somewhat more acerbic is the recently released autobiography by Ed Rendell, former Governor of Pennsylvania.\u00a0 It\u2019s called, A Nation of Wusses: How America’s Leaders Lost the Guts to Make Us Great.<\/em> Like Granholm, Rendell was in office from 2003-2011. He clearly accomplished a great deal for his state, and in particular the city of Philadelphia, where he was mayor prior to becoming governor.\u00a0 Much of his focus wason\u00a0 rejuvenating decaying infrastructure and building new bridges, roads, airport, rail lines, to put his state at or near the top of functioning regions in the northeast.<\/p>\n But he begins his book with a metaphor for what he sees as America\u2019s biggest problem. He relates how,Philadelphia, weather forecasters predicted a blizzard that was going to dump 12-18 inches of snow.\u00a0 The home-town Eagles decided to postpone their football game, because the team felt that there would be too much congestion and not enough parking. As it turned out, there were only six inches of snow, a rather normal amount for the area at that time of year. Rendell and his son were furious about the game being postponed; they would have trudged through anything to see a \u201csnow bowl.\u201d Rendell argues that in the early days of football (think \u201cLeatherheads<\/a>\u201d), nothing could have caused a game to be postponed. He called the executives of the hometown Eagles a bunch of \u201cwusses.\u201d<\/p>\n That is the term that he uses for a number of individuals in politics. He directs a great deal of his attention at Republicans, particularly in the Pennsylvania state legislature. He saw them as easily sacrificing the well-being of the commonwealth for their own political gain. He saw them as seeking and accepting political favors in return for obstinance and gridlock. The same was true for some Democrats who seemed to be lacking backbones and would not stand up for the greater good against the GOP.<\/p>\n Most particularly, Rendell strays off the Jennifer Granholm reservation by not hesitating to criticize President Obama and even refers to him as a wuss. Part of his frequent but not exclusive criticism of Obama is that he frequently talks of his \u201clove\u201d for Hillary Clinton and his belief that she would have been a strong candidate in both Pennsylvania and the country at large. He believes that the core of her character is her backbone, and that she is not afraid to stand up to anyone or anything. While he acknowledges that President Obama has been known to stand the line, particularly in foreign affairs and most specifically in the attack on Osama bin Laden, Rendell has significant areas of doubt about the president\u2019s willingness to take on the opposition.<\/p>\n His two areas of disappointment and frustration are ones that are familiar with many progressives. While Rendell prefers the Affordable Health Act to what previously existed, he is most disappointed in the president for backing away from both a single-payer system and if not that, the public option component. Rendell is convinced that Obama was unwilling to take on Republicans and caved in on two policies that would have strengthened health care in the U.S. and enhance his chances of passing more meaningful legislation.<\/p>\n