"...Only One Part Missing...But Kinda Like If The One Part Missing Was The Propeller".....

The election of 2016 has it all.

With one exception worth mention.

Exception forthcoming.

(CNN) Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump just moved much closer to a general election match-up. 

Trump swept the Republican primaries in five East Coast states on Tuesday, while Clinton won in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware, dropping only Rhode Island to Bernie Sanders.

It's still only April, and their opponents swear they're not going anywhere. But Trump and Clinton both used their victory speeches to pivot towards the general election, giving a preview of the clash we might see between them over the next five months.

 So, as the title of one of pop singer Michael Johnson's lesser known but, undeniably, catchy tunes goes...

"That's that."

Or, for those of you from that generation who march to the beat of a different drummer, say, like the one who laid down the groove for the Chairman of the Board...

"That's life."

Here's a thing, though.

Actually, a number of things.

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”
                                                                                          ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.”
                                                                                         ― Aristotle

“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”
                                                                                        ― Albert Schweitzer

“You do not lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership.”
                                                                                          ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

“I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself.”
                                                                                         ― Robert E. Lee

“Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.”
                                                                                        ― Orrin Woodward 


 I found all of these quotes in less than five minutes simply by giving the ol' Google a little clickin'. It didn't occur to me until more than a few minutes later that it was than  a little ironic, and, yeah, even a little funny that I was using a search engine looking for "leadership."

And finding a whole lot of insightful and cogent interpretations of what leadership really is.

While Google and the rest of the Internet, in fact, the rest of anywhere you choose to search for it, actual leadership isn't really to be found anywhere.

Certainly not among those who, at this writing, are left standing in a reality show I'd be inclined to call "The Underwhelming Race."

Just so we're clear here, I'm not talking about a lack of personalities or causes or promises or even qualities, even, arguably, a few virtues to be found amongst those who want "we the people" to be convinced they are our best hope to lead "we the people".

There's plenty of causes being championed.

There's plenty of emotions being stirred.

There's plenty of flags being unfurled and waved, banners being hung, yard signs proclaiming allegiance and bumper stickers rear ending us with attempts at persuasion.

And in any, and all, of those who are left of the five who are left there are, at least, a few good intentions, even a little genuine potential.

Even in the pile of narcissistic gibberish that Donald sees as "speeches" and "addresses" there are some points well made that deserve to be made.

But leadership?

Not so much.

I don't begin to profess to possess a hint of the wisdom or perception that those notable folks I quoted earlier offer.

All I can offer is my perspective based on sixty plus years of life, fifty plus years of reading and learning and witnessing and paying attention to many who have come and gone deserving, and not deserving, of being acclaimed as a real leader and what I look for when I'm searching for leadership.

When trying to define and/or articulate it, I'm reminded of what Justice Stewart said when asked to give a definition of obscenity.

"I can't specifically define it...but I know it when I see it."

 In that spirit....

Leadership is about inspiring.

Not inciting.

It's the ability to energize your mind, your spirit, even your soul to make you want to be better tomorrow than you are today.

Not just promising that things will be made better for you tomorrow if you just give your vote today.

It's the skill of getting you to help fix what's broken, make what works work better and lend a hand building cities on the hill.

Not just play on your angers and fears to incite you to burn down the village.

It's the ability to teach you that "telling it like it is" is a sledge hammer. If it's used correctly and skillfully, it can contribute to the construction of magnificent things.

And if not, it can, and will, do irreparable damage.

It's a talent for bringing out the best in people.

Not fueling a campaign train with the power of their hatred.

I was born in the 1950's and came of age in the 60's.  Given that timeline, it was almost inevitable that I would grow up a Kennedy kid.

And while that sixty plus years of life I mentioned earlier, along with that fifty plus years of reading and learning and witnessing have long ago faded any rose color that may have once shaded my glasses, I am, often, these days, reminded of one of John Kennedy's more familiar quotations.

"Ask not, what your country can do for you....ask what you can do for your country."

A little dated, a little yellowed with age?

Sure.

A little hokey, even, given the "me, myself and I' era of self where we find ourselves in 2016?

Yeah, probably.

Telling it like it is?

Not so much.

But telling it like it oughta be?

Bet your ass.

Because Kennedy, in 1961, understood leadership.

Real deal leadership.

Leadership that makes no other promise than the promise to see that our collective reach always exceeds our collective grasp.

Leadership that doesn't simply pander to us by caressing our egos with how wonderful we are and what a great nation we are and, like a loving, but strict coach...or father...or mother, demands of us what is required to be better tomorrow than we are today.

Because just like the most remarkable coaches...and fathers...and mothers in our history and in our very own lives, the most remarkable leaders, in fact, the only real leaders, understand that their responsibility to us is not to get it done.

Their responsibility is to get us to do it.

Together.

As one nation.

You know the rest.

And if, by chance, the whole Kennedy reference set off your "uh-oh, more bleeding heart, candy ass, lefty left wing, liberal in the house" alarm, try this quotation on for size.

From somebody very likely on your list of the most revered.


 “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.”
                                                                                          ― Ronald Reagan



The election of 2016 has it all.

With one exception worth mention.

We've got liberals..and conservatives...and ultra right wingers...and ultra left wingers..

We've got braggarts and blowhards and bloviators.

We've got narcissists and socialists and feminists.

We've got office seekers "fighting for us", "burning for us" and guaranteeing they will "make America great again" for us.

We've got five left standing.

And now we've got two front runners.

We've got it all.

With one exception.

And if Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy were alive today, I'd feel safe in betting a big pile of cash they would agree what that one exception is.

A leader.