The Double Truth, Ruth

One of the reasons I think this country is often so divided is because many of our leaders are not compassionate leaders, but rather partial leaders. Most leaders all have the same goals; they want to make America better. Both John McCain and Barack Obama have good intentions. However, beyond policy, experience and a change in how business gets done, there is something that is required in order to be president. That is true compassionate leadership. What you may think is right and true for you, is wrong for someone else. It is the partial truth. Too many leaders are partial leaders because they only see what they believe and this plagues both parties. A real leader is someone who is able to take a step back and look at all sides and perspectives and then make a decision. In the coming years, leaders will have to make decisions that do not have a clear-cut Republican or Democrat answer. If we are going to make the best decision, we are going to have to be able to understand all sides of the argument or conflict. This will become especially pertinent with respect to our foreign policy in the coming years. If we want to pacify the Middle East and decrease the terrorist threat, we can't look at the region as we have in the past. We need to be able to encourage dialogue (and yes, that includes Iran), and try to understand where these nations are coming from. Our failure to do this in the past makes young Arabs susceptible to joining terrrorist organizations. Both candidates have displayed compassionate leadership, but John McCain seemed to have lost this as he ran for his party's nomination. When he said he'd rather lose an election than a war, he also should have noted he would rather win the nomination than keep his credentials. Obama has shown that he does have these qualities and the temperment that we need right now. The ability to look at these situations from all sides will be more valuable than experience. America has prided itself on being leaders of the free world and if it wishes to continue this legacy it will need leaders who are able to see the whole truth and not just the partial truth. And that's the double truth, Ruth.