Photo Credit Willie Holdman President elect Obama emphasizes trust on 60 Minutes
November 16th, 2008 by link
In his first global interview since being elected, President Elect Obama told 60 minutes Sunday night: “We actually have a consensus among conservative leaning economists and liberal left leaning economists and the consensus is this that we have to do whatever it takes to get this economy moving again.”
I was encouraged to hear his recognition of trust as a core element to restore our global economy. Obama said:
“A top priority we have to restore a sense of Trust, transparency and openness in our financial system. Keep in mind the deregulation process, it wasn’t just one party I think there is a lot of blame to spread around.”
(You will remember a post last month where I quoted British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s comments on CNN: “The most precious asset of all is something that if lost, can only be restored not by words, but by actions, that is the asset of Trust and confidence “ ) Glad Obama and Brown both seem to get it.
I also resonate with his statement of bipartisan responsibility for the problem. Obama continued:
“Our basic principle that this is a free market system and that it has worked for us that it creates innovation and risk taking is a principle we need to hold to as well. But what I don’t want to do is get bottled up in a lot of ideology, is this conservative or liberal, my interest is finding something that works and whether its coming from FDR or from Ronald Reagan if the idea is right for the times we are going to apply it.”
I applaud his assertion that the best idea wins. This alone can transform our leadership. As an American It has been embarrassing to watch our Congress and Senate under Bush and Clinton, bicker instead of influence and lead. The world is losing respect for our democratic free market system because of our poor example.
As Obama went on:
“I want to make sure that I can recreate a bond of trust between the Presidency and the public that I think has been lost.”
Finally he again appealed for synergy:
“There were a number of reasons that someone would not have voted for me, but what was absolutely clear was whether people voted for me or against me they were making the judgment based on, is this guy gonna lead us well. Is this guy going to be a good president.”
We all must behave our way out of the problems we have created in the economy by behaving with each other in ways that inspire trust. Our leaders can only be as good as the people they lead. Now that the election is over we must sustain our leaders. Let’s all take responsibility to rise to the occasion to be credible and act to inspire others in moments of trust to fuel a ripple effect for a global renaissance of trust.
Dec 03 at 1:34 pm
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama resigned his seat in the Senate on Sunday to focus on his transition to the White House, appointing new staff and thanking his home state of Illinois for launching his political career.