The Story of Power

The shameless bias of Newsweek and its writers never ceases to amaze. While fronting an intellectual analysis of power through references to Plato, Kant, Nietzsche and other great thinkers, Mr. Meacham - without bothering to explain exactly how he arrives at this conclusion - manages to project Barack Obama as some kind of demi-god and still throw in a slight to Sarah Palin for good measure.

I agree with this assessment. George Soros singlehandedly gamed the entire European currency market creating vast upheaval,and is a solid power in his own right. From Riyadh and Mecca to Washington and Wall St;Soros becomes the arch fixer,political player,and conjurer of national destinies in a manner that others like Gates,Buffett, or Murdoch,do not.
Obviously,the power to corrupt,to politically influence,and even to act as kingmaker,derives from money,and lots of it. Soros supremely fits this bill , bankrolling elections both here and in Europe,with many roads leading back to this man.[including Obamas and many who now serve in his new WH].

It took about six years for Bush administration to come to terms with realities in Korean peninsula and start direct negotiations with North Korea that it had been demanding all along. It took a lot of wrangling as well as adamant nuclear explosion by NK to bring this simple lesson home to hawkish policy-makers in Washington clouding Bush's vision, that nothing substitutes dialogue. Obama, hopefully, may do better. He has scores of issues at hand-Latest Pak-indo bickering over Mumbai bombing being the flatest one. He need to intervene to solve Kashmir problem. and India will have to come to terms with this reality and initiate dialogue with nuclear Pakistan. It should remove the only hitch haunting Pak-Indo relations-Kashmir.
www.ambassadorsofislam.com

I think it is interesting that Jim Rogers is on this list but George Soros is not. Rogers and Soros in the financial world are inseparable but in the power and influence game it has long been believed that Soros wielded the political power, with his financing of moveon.org amongst others. I think in the upcoming 4-8 years moveon.org will be the "fly in the ointment" to Obama's centrist theme and will be far more important on a global power scale then Rogers.

The President ???elect???s choice for Secretary of Education, Arnie Duncan, hatches evil plot with cereal companies, Read more at, http://stopthepresses2.blogspot.com

Maybe they meant to say 'Illuminati'.

Ok Meacham. Your premise is flawed and tainted. Because as you know, the media gave Obama a free pass throughout the campaign. And when they had a chance to open Obama up and let the people see him for what he is... the media covered it up. Prime example, his so-called Race Speech in Philadelphia. Obama is a creation of an adoring press. So we don't know the real guy. Unfortunately we will and there will be a lot of disappointed voters. It reminds when Bush was touting invading Iraq. The media went along with Bush and did not seriously question him. Then the war turned sour, the media ran for cover and all the people who overwhelming supported the war going in, suddenly couldn't be found. That will happen to Obama. In a couple of years we'll find no one willing to admit that they voted for the guy. So go on and continue to pump the guy up and not dig for the truth. You only harm this country by being the lap dog that you are... but you and your pals in the media will never admit it. You'll be shocked. Shocked, indeed. And we the American people will be left poorer for it.

Those who use power effectively are "in the zone", best observable as you watch Tiger Woods' expression throughout a round of golf. He has power but he ignores it and lets it do its work. When you say, "I've won political capital and I'm going to spend it", you just lost it because you failed to ignore it and let it do its work. Most all of the rest of power is couched in this simple framework. There is no charge for this valuable information. Enjoy.

They left out Bevis and Butthead!

Hhow about Tiger Woods and Rachel Ray?

What about Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones?

What an interesting list - no writers, no university presidents, no scientists or inventors, (although Dr. Chan is sort of a scientist) no political pundits. No social reformers. No Nobel Peace prize winners or others actively promoting peace (although the Dalai Lama gets honorable mention in that category).

The vast majority of these people are heads of state, politicians or CEO's, a few generals, a few religious figureheads.

This list is most remarkable for the types of people it is missing - no Ben Franklins, no Orwells or Thomas Paines, no Desmond Tutu's, no Limbaughs or Buchanans, no Salks or Sabins, no Margaret Sangers or Dorothea Dixes,

Power to make people think, and power to inspire movements and ideas is what is missing here.

"There are great men and women who go unknown. Their contemporaries ignore them." --Seth.

Meacham at least avows his love for the Expected One [of course,those of us who gazed upon the odd marriage between media and candidate already knew this long ago to both our ridicule of the NEWSWEAKS of the world, and to their despair].

What Meacham desires is a liberal Superman,cut not from DC Comics cloth but that of Nietzche,a benevolent strongman in sorts somewhat angling between a Carter and a Reagan.[but not a Jackson Jon,as we have no United States Banks left and the Indian wars are long gone,with no southern nullification in the works,outside of your rags unusually accurate comment that there are none from south of the Mason -Dixon in Obamas new cabinet].
Meacham will adopt the ideal of garnering Euro re-trust knowing that Bush will be gone but forgetting that his American Lion had no use for any of these on the other side of the Atlantic even in his day, full well knowing their usual perfidy culminating in British Gen. Packhinghams ass-kicking before the city of New Orleans in 1815 by said Jackson.[and this,even after the war was declared over,by the Ghent Treaty signed before the Battle of New Orleans].
Even thus,the Labour-like [ liberal] Meachams have always looked to Europe as the older brother,to see that we were doing right in the world, maschotistically asking for a beating [''please sir,can I have some more''] when we got out of line,especially under the Dreaded Age Of Bush when American media groveling before Berlin,London and Paris was de rigure. Unfortunately,this makes him more of a pre-WWII Chamberlainist [ or worse,an NPR parody] than a Churchillian,adopting,unlike Jackson, a go-along-to-get-along attitude amongst the worlds nations,particulalrly Europes, that in the age of Islamic terror and militarism, is as archaic now as it was in 1938. Europe is now finding this out to its grief. I fear largely that Meacham,like too many others, [including the oddly confused Zakaria in the wake of Mumbai] places all of his hopeful eggs in one European [or Asian] basket. Folly for markets,for geo-political strategy,and ultimately,for ''power'',as well.........

Jon,

???What is the greatest power in the world???? is a question I pose to executives in our leadership summits. Executives list forms of power to the point of discovering the blind spot. Most people equate power with the idea of ???power over others???.

We seem to interpret Francis Bacon???s ???Knowledge Is Power??? in the context of ???what you know that I don???t, provides you power over me???, and that ???inside knowledge gives you power over others???. This is true, but as you say is fleeting and never long lasting. The ultimate power, the greatest power in the world is the Knowledge of Self, especially, when knowledge has been proliferated.

Transformational Presidents, truly great leaders are guided by self-insight, understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, the distinction between self and the office they serve and grasp of the anatomy of power. Knowledge of self is the only true antidote to the corruptive nature of power over others. The failings of recent Presidents can be traced to their blind spots and limited ability to self-reflect.

Transformational leadership is about helping people transform. If Obama is to realize what he aspires to be as a President, he will need to merge the capacity to use power for extraordinary action together his ability to self-reflect. Rebuilding confidence in the economy may begin with policy and regulation but must continue with reflective narrative to help people reframe their view of the world.

Aviv Shahar;
www.avivconsulting.com

Jon,

???What is the greatest power in the world???? is a question I pose to executives in our leadership summits. Executives list forms of power to the point of discovering the blind spot. Most people equate power with the idea of ???power over others???.

We seem to interpret Francis Bacon???s ???Knowledge Is Power??? in the context of ???what you know that I don???t, provides you power over me???, and that ???inside knowledge gives you power over others???. This is true, but as you say is fleeting and never long lasting. The ultimate power, the greatest power in the world is the Knowledge of Self, especially, when knowledge has been proliferated.

Transformational Presidents, truly great leaders are guided by self-insight, understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, the distinction between self and the office they serve and grasp of the anatomy of power. Knowledge of self is the only true antidote to the corruptive nature of power over others. The failings of recent Presidents can be traced to their blind spots and limited ability to self-reflect.

Transformational leadership is about helping people transform. If Obama is to realize what he aspires to be as a President, he will need to merge the capacity to use power for extraordinary action together his ability to self-reflect. Rebuilding confidence in the economy may begin with policy and regulation but must continue with reflective narrative to help people reframe their view of the world.

Aviv Shahar;
www.avivconsulting.com

Wow???.wow
In the interest of full disclosure - I have a huge crush on Jon Meacham. All I can say is ???buddy get out if the office??? From Gore, Machiavelli, Gutenberg, Homer, Shakespeare Bush, Osama bin Laden Kennedys, Clintons, Nietzsche???s, Mills Kent, Churchill and we can???t leave out Sarah Palin even if we want to. That is what power all about.

Newsweek has officially gone off the deep end.