character
12 September 2005

my dad shared a cool illustration with me back when the lewinsky fiasco splashed onto the political scene some years ago. he told me there were two kinds of leaders, and to make the point he picked two men, bill clinton, of course, and john kennedy. bill clinton committed acts not befitting a president, and when confronted about it he gave a speech in which he never once accepted responsibility for his actions. no real apology. no plea for forgiveness. just a barely concealed tantrum of anger for having his personal life placed in the spotlight. john kennedy committed acts not befitting a president when he bungled the entire operation in the bay of pigs invasion. complete failure. he didn't do all of his homework. people died. people who didn't have to die. kennedy may as well have slit his wrists in trade for the lives of the men he sacrificed. america expected answers, and that week, on national television, kennedy appeared before his people and poured out his heart in one of the most incredible, morale-inducing, sincere apologies ever made. the apology was accepted. this man was a leader.

to conclude: in life, we will all get egg on our face. the proud leader will wear that mess and pretend it doesn't exist, and the people will scorn him as wicked. the humble leader, the true leader, will be first to acknowledge the mess and wipe it off, and the people will continue to follow his example.

the moral of the story: when you get egg on your face, clean it up.

check it out - 01.20.07
vapor - 11.15.06
can't complain - 11.10.06
turn the page - 11.09.06
who invented the word "me-maw"? - 09.28.06

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