For all the talk of the influence of money and interest groups in the political process, the American political system has many lessons for India whose political landscape is tragically devoid of both effective CEOs and visionary leaders.
When Clinton argues that "you campaign in poetry but you govern inprose" she is merely expressing her belief that the Presidency is moreabout pushing difficult legislation through a divided Congress than it is abouttransforming society. Clinton has likened the job of President to that of a"chief executive officer" who has "to be able to manage and runthe bureaucracy." Obama, on the other hand, has made a case that thePresidency has little to do with running an efficient office, arguing that"it involves having a vision for where the country needs to go…and thenbeing able to mobilize and inspire the American people to get behind that agendafor change."
Similarly, on the Republican side, Mitt Romney, who has now withdrawn from therace, tried to make his case by pointing out his record as a business leader andthe governor of Massachusetts. He suggested that given the impending economicrecession, America needs a President who understands the ins and outs ofeconomic policy, taking a jibe at McCain who is said to be not particularlyinterested in economic and domestic policy issues. McCain responded that he wasa leader, not a CEO and a President can always hire policy wonks to run hisagenda. Thankfully for the Republicans, McCain’s substantial lead over hisrivals has sorted this debate out, at least in the near-term. But the debatecontinues in the Democratic camp and the inability of the Democrats to make uptheir minds about Obama or Clinton makes it clear how difficult it is to come toany conclusion on this issue.
She cannot match Obama in poetry but is hoping to match him up in competence.To support her contention, she has argued that Martin Luther King’s vision ofracial equality in the US began to be realised only when President LyndonJohnson was able to get the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through the US Congress.Though this statement generated a lot of controversy, it remains historicallysound. Even Hillary’s detractors admit that her record as a Senator isoutstanding, emerging as a centrist, cooperating with Republican colleagues andforging a national agenda beyond the extremes of the Left and the Right.
It is this that gives her an edge vis-à-vis Obama whose rhetoric, for all itsability to uplift, hasn’t moved beyond lofty idealism. On most importantissues, his views remain blurred and incoherent. This is especially true offoreign policy where he has moved from being ready to bomb Pakistan to agreeingto sit across the table with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. While the Democratic basemight love his anti-Iraq war declarations, the fact remains that his absencefrom the US Congress saved him from making tough choices on the Iraq war thatmost Democrats who were in the Congress were forced to make.
The Democrats will continue to struggle with two differing conceptions ofleadership and Presidency that their front-runners project for weeks, possiblemonths. However, the search for an ideal leader will not end. Whoever wins theDemocratic primaries, the question will re-emerge when Obama or Hillary willcome face-to-face with McCain.
Harsh V. Pant teaches at King’s College London.