Here’s a schedule of events for tomorrow’s inauguration. This is a good time to take a look back as well as ahead. So in addition to watching Obama’s swearing-in and inaugural address tomorrow, I would recommend watching Reagan’s swearing-in and inaugural address from 1981: I still love Reagan’s timeless line: “Government is not the solution […]
Greatness and Modern Historians
I just picked up the book Greatness: Reagan, Churchill, and the Making of Extraordinary Leaders and it’s proving to be a good read. The comparison between Reagan and Churchill has not been often made. But in writing extensively on both individuals, the author began to see the many parallels between these leaders, which he explores […]
Reagan's Farewell Address: "We Made a Difference"
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Z-nN1YB5A&NR=1 My other favorite part in Reagan’s farewell address is the very end (go forward to 9:11 into the above video), where he says: And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years […]
Reagan's Farewell Address: The Meaning of "We the People"
As we look ahead to a presidential transition in the coming weeks, we would do well to look back … to Ronald Reagan. I love Reagan’s farewell address (among many others). I don’t remember if I saw it live back in ’89 (I would have been 12), but I’ve watched it on Youtube many times […]
Jack Welch on What Business Leaders Can Learn from Obama's Campaign
Jack Welch has a helpful column in the Nov 17 issue of Businessweek called “Three Reasons Obama Won.” (The link is to the podcast — the column itself does not appear to exist online. In case anyone is wondering, this does indeed mean that I still read some actual physical periodicals!) Here are two of […]
Obama Ran a Capitalist Campaign
The Wall Street Journal had a great editorial by Bret Swanson on Friday about how Obama Ran a Capitalist Campaign. Here are the two best points, in my opinion. First, Obama ran a brilliant campaign. But there is an inconsistency between the policies that Obama is calling for and the way that he ran his […]
Most Change Comes from People, Not Politicians
John Stossel (most known for co-anchoring 20/20) has an interesting column today called Who Will Run America?. He made two especially good points. First, ultimately in America, it’s the people who govern. Referring to a recent interview with economist Walter Williams, he writes: Williams pointed out that the White House doesn’t govern what happens in […]
Lessons in Marketing from the 2008 Presidential Election
Seth Godin has a great post this morning on Marketing Lessons from the US Election. Well worth the read. Here’s the quick summary: Stories really matter TV is over Permission matters Marketing is tribal Motivating the committed outperforms persuading the uncommitted Attack ads don’t always work We get what we deserve (ex: buy from telemarketers, […]
If You Are Not Economically Free, You Are Not Politically Free
Nearly all recognize the value of freedom in the political sphere. It is wrong for the government to coerce us to speak, believe, or think contrary to our wishes, or to deprive us of our right to life without due process. But it is equally necessary to realize that economic freedom is a necessary component […]
The Purposes of Government
One of the fundamentals of making good decisions is to know the purpose of what you are doing. If you don’t know the goal, you won’t make a good choice in how to get there. In making a good decision about who should lead the country next, it would be smart to remind ourselves of […]