It occurs to me that being in one's twenties is a special time to form a bond with a leader. And that bond for better or worse stays with us.
When my dad was in his twenties, he experienced the leadership of Lyndon Johnson in the US and Indira Gandhi in India. The former was following in the wake of the huge popularity of Kennedy and the latter was filling the rather big shoes of Nehru. But his bond was with Johnson and Indira Gandhi because they were taking charge in the transition.
In a similar vein, I was too young for President Reagan and too old today for President Obama. I was in my twenties when President Clinton took office. He made this indelible impression on me (warts and all), that has stayed with me along my journey.
I thought I would record some impressions of my experience, and since I am a rather fierce independent, I thought I would be apolitical in this regard.
First glimpse
I was in the first year of my MBA program at the Wharton Business School in 1991 when Governor Clinton was coming to campus to make an address. I remember there was a rush for tickets and I managed to secure one. I was seated in the middle towards the front, right in front of him.
When he strode on stage, it was just him with no lectern or standing microphone. In other words, the impression I had was, there was this man commanding the stage all by himself, with nothing obstructing him from us - and I distinctly remember feeling that it was just him and he was talking to me - I have not had that experience since!
He was talking about things that were not meant to appease the audience in front of him - but he got sustained applause anyway.
It was my first impression of charisma and intelligence in full flow.
Haircut
I was on a project in Memphis staying at the Marriott on Thousand Oaks boulevard. Very groggily I opened the door to pick up the colorfully adorned USA Today and lay it on the table. There was this big splash on the front page of a plane in LA with a headline that screamed that the President caused delays at the airport because he was getting a haircut on his plane.
Nothing about this story computed for me. Why he would do this. Why somebody would agree to do this for him. Why the newspaper would cover it. And why it was on the front page.
And so started his presidency!
Vanity Fair
There was in interesting issue of Vanity Fair that discussed the 65 leaders in the world at that time and discussed 'a portrait of world power'.
The picture had President Clinton without his jacket in a white shirt. There was a clear signal in that picture and in the write-up that he was 'at work'.
He was chipping away towards the New Democrat agenda, one chisel at a time.
It felt good to 'feel' the President at work.
State of Union Speech
President Clinton delivered a remarkably well received State of the Union speech one year that focused on balancing the budget and reforming welfare. It was a virtuoso performance in speech making. His aide later reported that there was a glitch in the telepromper system and that the President started talked before the speech could be downloaded - and no one knew the difference.
I thought of my first glimpse when I was in school, and understood how this man could so easily handle awkward situations such as these, with the whole world watching!
Angry Voice
I was on a hellish project, travel wise. I had to fly from New York to Detroit. And from Detroit I had to rent a car and drive to Findlay, OH. Findlay is where Ben Roethlisberger, the Pittsburgh NFL quarterback is from.
It was long drives back and forth through flat country every week for several months. And there was only so much of Terry Gross I could take on NPR. So as I was idly shuffling through the channels I happened upon Rush Limbaugh. Until that time, I had only heard of him, but never listened to him.
This was a man in full cry. President Clinton was in the middle of all his 'troubles' and I could feel Rush Limbaugh's glee, fury, entertainment, surfing the wave all rolled into one mesmerizing schtick. I remember saying to myself, 'this is bad business all around!'
I was glad the stock market was doing well!
The Big '0'
I confess I am a business school graduate. And therefore, the highest pleasure I had was when President Clinton put a 'big zero' on a white board to showcase that he had balanced the budget.
Aaah! A spa in Sedona could not match this pleasure for me!!
Last Listen
I was driving my car in Manhattan, when President Clinton was on radio. It was the very end of his Presidency. He was still talking about the economy, jobs, the budget. There was no wistfulness or goodbye-ishness in what he was saying - either content wise or emotionally. He was still at it.
I remember distinctly saying this aloud, "We will miss you . . .", not realizing how much that desire turned out to be true!
When my dad was in his twenties, he experienced the leadership of Lyndon Johnson in the US and Indira Gandhi in India. The former was following in the wake of the huge popularity of Kennedy and the latter was filling the rather big shoes of Nehru. But his bond was with Johnson and Indira Gandhi because they were taking charge in the transition.
In a similar vein, I was too young for President Reagan and too old today for President Obama. I was in my twenties when President Clinton took office. He made this indelible impression on me (warts and all), that has stayed with me along my journey.
I thought I would record some impressions of my experience, and since I am a rather fierce independent, I thought I would be apolitical in this regard.
First glimpse
I was in the first year of my MBA program at the Wharton Business School in 1991 when Governor Clinton was coming to campus to make an address. I remember there was a rush for tickets and I managed to secure one. I was seated in the middle towards the front, right in front of him.
When he strode on stage, it was just him with no lectern or standing microphone. In other words, the impression I had was, there was this man commanding the stage all by himself, with nothing obstructing him from us - and I distinctly remember feeling that it was just him and he was talking to me - I have not had that experience since!
He was talking about things that were not meant to appease the audience in front of him - but he got sustained applause anyway.
It was my first impression of charisma and intelligence in full flow.
Haircut
I was on a project in Memphis staying at the Marriott on Thousand Oaks boulevard. Very groggily I opened the door to pick up the colorfully adorned USA Today and lay it on the table. There was this big splash on the front page of a plane in LA with a headline that screamed that the President caused delays at the airport because he was getting a haircut on his plane.
Nothing about this story computed for me. Why he would do this. Why somebody would agree to do this for him. Why the newspaper would cover it. And why it was on the front page.
And so started his presidency!
Vanity Fair
The picture had President Clinton without his jacket in a white shirt. There was a clear signal in that picture and in the write-up that he was 'at work'.
He was chipping away towards the New Democrat agenda, one chisel at a time.
It felt good to 'feel' the President at work.
State of Union Speech
I thought of my first glimpse when I was in school, and understood how this man could so easily handle awkward situations such as these, with the whole world watching!
Angry Voice
I was on a hellish project, travel wise. I had to fly from New York to Detroit. And from Detroit I had to rent a car and drive to Findlay, OH. Findlay is where Ben Roethlisberger, the Pittsburgh NFL quarterback is from.
It was long drives back and forth through flat country every week for several months. And there was only so much of Terry Gross I could take on NPR. So as I was idly shuffling through the channels I happened upon Rush Limbaugh. Until that time, I had only heard of him, but never listened to him.
This was a man in full cry. President Clinton was in the middle of all his 'troubles' and I could feel Rush Limbaugh's glee, fury, entertainment, surfing the wave all rolled into one mesmerizing schtick. I remember saying to myself, 'this is bad business all around!'
I was glad the stock market was doing well!
The Big '0'
I confess I am a business school graduate. And therefore, the highest pleasure I had was when President Clinton put a 'big zero' on a white board to showcase that he had balanced the budget.
Aaah! A spa in Sedona could not match this pleasure for me!!
Last Listen
I was driving my car in Manhattan, when President Clinton was on radio. It was the very end of his Presidency. He was still talking about the economy, jobs, the budget. There was no wistfulness or goodbye-ishness in what he was saying - either content wise or emotionally. He was still at it.
I remember distinctly saying this aloud, "We will miss you . . .", not realizing how much that desire turned out to be true!
3 comments:
To me, Clinton is the most enigmatic person I have ever known ! He is brilliant, sophisticated,a great thinker and organizer. Yet , he shows the side of an extraordinary weak person in terms of personal attributes. Towards presidential accomplishments, perhaps he can be considered almost equal to Roosevelt. In terms of oration he can be compared to Lincoln. What he is accomplishing after the presidency is equally impressive. But his human weakness does not allow him to be considered as an all time great president.
Clinton is a phenomenon! His presidency was indeed a golden era for the US! Had
the Democratic leadership continued, then maybe the fateful wars, and the
consequent recessions would not have come about.
I enjoyed your comments linking to your travels, like the spa in Sedona.
Loved yr writeup,..Great Leaders create Great Impressions!!
Clinton Charismatic leader
His smile is the first impression!!
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