One of my favorite movies is Dave. If you haven’t seen it, Kevin Kline is moonlighting as an impersonator of the President of the United States, doing personal appearances in some nondescript rural town. Through an unfortunate series of event, he finds himself at The White House, standing in as the President.
It’s a hilarious movie. At one point, he even says one of the most amazing things about the position of President of the United States — “Somewhere along the way, I forgot to do my job, a temp job at that.”
Every four years, we fill this temp position. Sometimes we keep the incumbent around for another contract period. Other times we look for someone new to take on the assignment.
It’s hardly a glorious role to take on. The pay (at least by corporate standards) is mid-level management at best. The accommodations are nice, but you’re basically a prisoner inside its walls. The hours are unpredictable and often long. The pressure? Well, you’ve seen the before and after photos of Lincoln and Obama. It takes its toll on you and you end up aging decades in just a few years.
In my current role job with the state’s government, I manage a few staff members. This includes hiring and firing them. It’s not an easy task. You want the best person for the position, but gauging who is a good fit can be dicey, even if it’s clearly one person over another.
This is certainly the case with the President of the United States this time around. As I’ve noted, and in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve voted for Republicans and Democrats equally over the years for the nation’s highest office. I tend to choose the best person for the position, since really, as voters we are all HR managers.
Any smart hiring manager wants the best person for the position. For example, I have a senior communications staff member. That role requires a lot of experience in branding and design. It’s not an entry level position by any stretch. I would never hire someone right out of college to fill the role, as it would be setting that person and my department up for failure.
It’s nothing personal. I’m just not going to take the risk on someone who is unproven. It’s a critical role in my department and in the state. I can’t afford to experiment with an unknown.
I certainly wouldn’t hire the guy from the mailroom to take the position. He definitely wouldn’t have the experience or skill set to step into the job and be successful. Again, I would be setting us all up for failure.
When I was casting about for a candidate to fill the ultimate temp job, I admit that I was initially drawn to a certain person who was brave enough to not be PC in a very PC world. I liked the fact that someone is willing to call it as he sees it. It was the same qualities that caused me to support Ross Perot back in the day.
But ultimately, I came to realize that Ross would have been a horrible choice for the temp job. He was the guy in the mailroom. Sure, he was a billionaire and a CEO, but he had no idea how government worked or how to navigate the often delicate and mystical waters of government.
I’ve been found the transition fairly difficult. I came from the private sector. And I’ve been schooled over the last four years in how government actually works. The machinations are very different from what we perceive as outsiders or even voters. There’s are way more rules and regulations to follow than you can imagine and the political waters alone take a lifetime to learn to navigate.
Perot would have failed miserably because everything that made him successful in business – the top down decision making, the risk taking, the bold acquisitions and takeovers – are completely worthless when you’re called on to govern. Governing is a completely different skill set, so much so that while I toil away successfully at the middle level of government (the Governor is my boss’ boss’ boss), I could have never transitioned successfully from CEO of CommuniCreations to Governor of Washington State.
The sad truth is, governing is not something rookies should be tasked with. It’s complex, it’s taxing, it’s thankless and it’s often immovable. A former CEO just can’t wave his hand and erase legislation. There are laws layered upon laws that are meant to keep the government running no matter who is in charge of it. The system is designed to protect the Republic and ensure that change is slow and deliberate, not quick and random.
While I was indeed swayed early by this candidate for this particular temp job, the manager part of my brain finally took over.
Just as I wouldn’t hire the mailroom guy to step into a strategic communications role, I find it hard to “hire” someone with no government experience into the job of President and Commander in Chief.
This doesn’t mean, however, that I am a fan of the other candidate for the position. Hardly. I don’t feel I can trust her.
Here’s how I like to put it:
Say I’ve have two candidates for the chief of surgery role at my hospital. The first guy has actually worked in a surgical suite. Yes, he has had a malpractice suit or two and yes, he’s been known to steal some painkillers now and then from the pharmacy. The second candidate lists his medical experience. He’s never been in a surgical suite, but he has visited the doctor regularly, largely because he’s a hypochondriac with Tourette Syndrome.
Who am I going to hire? Well, the surgeon, of course. At least I know going in that I’ll have to watch him like a hawk, but I’m not about to hire a guy with no experience to operate on my patients.
In this scenario, I ultimately have the responsibility for the health of the hospital and the safety and well-being of its patients. Likewise, as a voter and employer, I have a responsibility to my fellow citizens and the Republic to put the most experienced person in the position. I may not like who I hire this time around (I never liked Carter, Bill Clinton or George W either), but as history has shown they were the best choices available at the time. Except Carter, of course.
In the Emerald City, wishing there were more candidates for the position,
- Robb