As Mark would agree, ladies first.

In contradition to this, the remarks I am replying to come at the bottom of this piece.

Both Elizabeth and Mark were replying to “Power” below.

Please note that often my “replies” are not replies but what your comment made me think of. That is what I want Bob’s Blog to do for you.

Elizabeth talks about Steve Forbes as an example of my statement that, despite what silly people say, power is NOT all about money.

Elizabeth a professional political advisor like me says things that no other person would utter.

When Forbes began his campaign for the presidential nomination I was asked what his chances were.

I replied, “He doesn’t have a prayer. He’s too ugly.”

Now that is the sort of comment that would be beneath mention by anyone else. But my objective was not to be well thought of. My living depended on being RIGHT.

You met him and he was not a nice guy. Many a candidate has survived that handicap. Many a congressman has been elected who would make a horse’s rear look like a pinup.

There have been fat presidents. But there has never been a president who was just plain ugly the way Forbes is.

You’re right, Mark, charisma and power are not interchangable items. Charisma is a quality but it does not automatically translate into power. Like any other quality the whole thing depends on how the charisma is used.

Charisma can be used to make money. It can be used to gain office, which is miles away from having power as I explained in the article.

A war hero who leads his men into battle personally has charisma. But few if any of them have ever made the slightest difference in the way the world developed. They make history books different and more interesting, but they seldom change history iself.

Keynes did say one thing that was true. While Great Leaders are making headlines, it is the scribblers who make the world what it is.

As to Mark’s second point, Forbes did not have a policy because he didn’t want POWER. He wanted to be president.

Someone who was no admirer of Reagan made a very, very important distinction. He said that Nixon ran for the presidency because he wanted to BE something (President of the United States). Reagan ran for president because he wanted to DO something.”

Nixon just carried out the policies a liberal would have carried out.

Whatever bad you may say about Reagan, he made a break with the past on many fronts that no one else would have made.

Reagan had charisma, and he USED it.

That is POWER.

I wonder if charisma and power are interchangeable items? If a person has charisma that usually means that he is the one who is doing and saying what everyone else wants to do or say but doesnt have courage enought to carry out. If power is making policy instead of following everyone else’s lead, does that naturally mean the powerful person has charisma? I wonder if you can have charisma and not power?

Comment by Mark — 12/10/2005 @ 12:34 am | Edit This

The powerful person doesn’t necessarily have charisma.

I’ve met Steve Forbes. Lots of power, very pleasant fellow, no
charisma.

Comment by Elizabeth — 12/10/2005 @ 2:34 pm | Edit This

I don’t know if I’d say Steve Forbes has power though, outside of his employees. He never made it in politics and hasn’t made any policy that I’m aware of.

Comment by Mark — 12/10/2005 @ 7:26 pm | Edit This