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• Sunday, January 6, 2008 06:50 AM

  X's and O's vs. Inspiration

  Last night the debate competed with the NFL playoffs. That Washington (lost) may be an omen. But, I think one football analogy may be appropriate.

  There are coaches who know the game and all of its intricacies in great detail and who can draw remarkable plays on a blackboard using "X" and "O" representing players. But they fail to inspire and lose. They are often called X's and O's coaches which is a code term for lack of the ability to stir tye emotions of the team.

  I think Hillary is the ultimate Xs and Os candidate. She is an extremely impressive discussing the details and fine points of policy. But the Presidency is more than Xs and Os. The successful Presidents are those who go beyond the details and inspire - and surround themselves with able advisors.

  Some presidnetial examples examples are Reagan, JFK, FDR and Lincoln.

  Reagan did not inspire me, but he certainly inspired the Right. FDR surrounded himself with able men and women, but what lifted America were his words. The same was true of JFK.

  Frankly, I'm more into Edwards than Obama but the one thing that Obama said that was dead-on was that "words count." More than his military strategy, Lincoln won the war and defined America by his words. The Gettysburg address and the Declaration of Independence are burned into our national psyche and they are nothing but words.

  Hillary is a brilliant woman, but she is so lost in the details of policy that she never developed the ability to inspire through words.

  Given the national doldrums we are in, we need a President who can, first of all, inspire.

  JCK

  http://johnklotz.blogspot.com

  —NewYorkLawyer Read NewYorkLawyer's other letters
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