"Beat The Bitch" -- How a presidential candidate botched a leadership opportunity and revealed his weakened "Personal Foundation"
December 19, 2007
The woman said something disgusting and the leader let it slide and it was all captured on video.
Here's how it played out...
Presidential candidate John McCain was in South Carolina at a gathering of political supporters and a woman stands up and asks the senator,
"How do we beat the bitch?'
The woman was referring to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
McCain, along with the rest of the group, laughed out loud at the question. McCain even said it was an "excellent question".
Watch the video below:
McCain missed a great opportunity to lead.
McCain should have stepped right up to that woman and said "That is TOTALLY unacceptable. You will NOT use that type of language in my presence. Referring to women as bitches is wrong and I demand an apology right now."
Was McCain's response clouded by his need for support (money and votes) of the people at that gathering?
How will you respond when someone you're leading says something incredibly disgusting and everyone in the room starts to laugh?
If you don't have a strong "Personal Foundation" you'll be susceptible to the same inappropriate response McCain had (trying to laugh it off, etc.).
A Personal Foundation is much like the foundation of a building. If the foundation is weak then whatever you build on it will be unstable and unreliable. Build the foundation strong and you've set the stage for a building that will stand the test of time.
A Personal Foundation consists of:
- Restoring Integrity
- Extending your Boundaries
- Raising your Standards
- Re-orienting around your Values
The part of your Personal Foundation that will protect you most in these situations is clarity of Values AND orienting your entire life around your top value(s).
If you aren't clear about your top values and you haven't oriented your life around them, your life will become compartmentalized - - you'll find yourself saying one thing and then, when your guard is down (and the video camera is rolling), you'll say another.
Compartmentalization happens by not having great clarity about your top values AND not orienting your entire life around those values.
Compartmentalization leads to duplicity and duplicity is toxic.
When you first identify (clarify) your top values and then orient your entire life around those values, you'll see these benefits:
- Easier goal setting. Your goals will be in sync with what's most important to you.
- Developing deep clarity. You'll free yourself from being torn between things.
- Experiencing FLOW more often. You'll enjoy your work and the different areas of your life will flow together. No more compartmentalization.
- More energy. Releasing goals and projects that drain you and don't express your values.
- Regret free living. When you're true to your core values you have no regrets.
You can strengthen your Personal Foundation and upgrade your leadership skills. Learn more HERE
Want to learn more about the McCain "How do we beat the bitch" comment?
CLICK HERE to read this great article by Debra Condren in the Huffington Post.
CLICK HERE to view a fascinating 20-minute video of Bill Moyers interviewing Kathleen Hall Jamieson on women in power.
as i watch this video, i wonder what was going through his head. it seems at one point he knows that it is wrong, when he asks for the transcript he is stalling and looking for a bail out, then he answers as gently as possible. i feel that he wanted to scold or even not respond although he felt a safe and welcoming environment to speak his mind. the new age or you tube and information spread is amazing. i am not sure if this will do much damage to his campaign because much of america "behind closed doors" feel the same way as the woman who asked the question.
Posted by: michael | January 04, 2008 at 07:50 PM