Lee Iacooca quote

[VMAXX]

This is from his book It's been posted all over the net,I really like it
No arguement on political parties here!

Lee Iacocca Says:

'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up
with what's happening? Where the heck is our outrage? We
should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of
clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a
cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind,
and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less
build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone
sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say,
'Stay the course'

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is
America, not the darned 'Titanic'. I'll give you
a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone
off my rocker, and may be I have. But someone has to speak
up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but
the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq ,
the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to
do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of
asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the
'America' my parents and yours traveled across the
ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a
patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm
ready and willing to have.

The Biggest 'C' is Crisis !

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times
of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on
the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids
off to war when you've never seen a battlefield
yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world
comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than
any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to
guide us out of the ashes. A heck of a Mess. So here's
where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no
plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running
the biggest deficit in the history of the country..
We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our
once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care
costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has
a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our
borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed
every which way. These are times that cry out for
leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where
have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious,
creative communicators? Where are the people of character,
courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be
a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland
security than making us take off our shoes in airports and
throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars
building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do
is react to things that have already happened.

Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane
Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating
the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability
for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after
the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed,
hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just
crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out
what you're going to do the next time.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about
how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing.
Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when
'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies?
How did this happen, and more important, what are we going
to do about it?

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for
paying down the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or
managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening.
But these are the crises that are eating away at our country
and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect
you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent
while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is
being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid
of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name?
Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for
a change?

Had Enough?

Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom
here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out
because I have hope; I believe in America . In my lifetime
I've had the privilege of living through some of
America's greatest moments. I've also experienced
some of our worst crises: the 'Great Depression',
'World War II', the 'Korean War', the
'Kennedy Assassination', the 'Vietnam War',
the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing,
it's this:

'You don't get anywhere by standing on the
sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether
it's building a better car or building a better future
for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the
challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to
'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America
. It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close.
So let's shake off the crap and go to work Let's
tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

[Tyme2fish]

If I was half way smart I could've said that too. He just said everything I've been thinking but don't have the ability or capability to express in such prose.

[DJD]

While I love reading that stuff what is he doing about it? Is he going to help fix it? He has the ability from his public persona to rally the country more than you and I. If he does nothing then he is no better than the other men who tell us how bad it is.JMO

[zx150]

Great speech but unless he can get someone in congress to take the lead, what good does his speech do? I agree with what he said. Who is the next leader who will get us to rise above it all?

What do you all think of term limits for our elected officials? I think it would help.

[LarryG]

Two terms fpr any elected congressmen. When they get confident, they forget who put them into office. This thing about seniority, if it worked, would we be in the shape were in?President, 30% approval rating, congress, less than that, if this was a TV show, it would be off the air in one season, but we get who we elected.throw the bums out, all of them. But the biggest problem is the beaurocracy in government.

[jcb]

Mediocre speech from the guy who gave us the Pinto.

The key part is this:
"I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect
you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent
while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is
being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid
of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name?
Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for
a change? "

I'll tell you exactly what they're afraid of, and it's not Fox News.

Any legislation that will help us make any significant progress as a country can also be twisted into a 30-second attack ad. Remove your District's pork projects from appropriations bills to help reduce government spending? Get ready for an attack ad showing how you don't produce for your constituents any more. Thinking about introducing a bill to halt the exponential growth of entitlement programs? Better be prepared to respond to charges that you're insensitive to the plight of the poor or the elderly.

The problem is not so much that politicians are spineless--we've always known that, really. The problem is that the average voter just doesn't know much about the complex issues we face.

[stratosjoe]

Sounds great, you still hear it echo in his bathroom.He's not doing anything about it either other than writing a book and selling the hell out of it. Also if you stand up and say what really needs to happen you are labeled an Idiot or a radical. People myself included want what was and that my friends is gone forever. The days of working your 20-30 years and being able to travel or financially being able to help your kids or grandkids are gone. They will never come back. What we are looking at now is how to lead a somewhat decent life with every thing we buy going up in price. China is just now realizing that they like hamburgers and milk shakes and they like the idea of home and auto ownership. THIS will be the real problem.
On the history channel last night they said if every household in China were to be wired for electricty with copper it would take every oz of copper ever mined on the planet and would still not be enough. They went on to say if the everage chinese family ate like average american family there would not be enough property on the planet to grow that much food! God what a great future our grandchildren have to forward to. The second coming my have some validity to it.........

[zx150]

Sounds great, you still hear it echo in his bathroom.He's not doing anything about it either other than writing a book and selling the hell out of it. Also if you stand up and say what really needs to happen you are labeled an Idiot or a radical. People myself included want what was and that my friends is gone forever. The days of working your 20-30 years and being able to travel or financially being able to help your kids or grandkids are gone. They will never come back. What we are looking at now is how to lead a somewhat decent life with every thing we buy going up in price. China is just now realizing that they like hamburgers and milk shakes and they like the idea of home and auto ownership. THIS will be the real problem.
On the history channel last night they said if every household in China were to be wired for electricty with copper it would take every oz of copper ever mined on the planet and would still not be enough. They went on to say if the everage chinese family ate like average american family there would not be enough property on the planet to grow that much food! God what a great future our grandchildren have to forward to. The second coming my have some validity to it.........

The bit you saw on the history is scary. Not having enough land to support the amount of food needed.