My Choice For President --- Fareed Zacharia, a realist with VISION!

Wow, if you missed tonight's interview on Charlie Rose with Fareed Zacharia, it would be well worth your while to watch the archived show when it's available. This man is the kind of leader we truly need and makes our current choices pale in comparison. I remember someone in this forum a few years ago asking what was the major thing we wanted our party to put forth and that we looked for in
our leadership choices, and my answer was VISION. Not exclusively domestic issues or foreign issues, but someone who could see the parts within the whole and was connected enough to the rest of the world to be able to lay the foundations for the inevitable and absolutely essential changes we, as a country and global community, MUST embrace. To begin to understand and transform ourselves within this new reality and become integral part of a global family. I have never heard of Mr. Zacharia before tonight, but I know when I hear what my ears and heart have been longing for. Of course this is only one person, and not in himself the answer. But he represents the kind of leadership we need to get us out of this stagnant, regressive place. In fact we need many leaders like him in all areas.

And it struck me just how shallow our "vision" has been and how little we address ANY of these enormously important things in our collective dialogue, through our candidates or anywhere else for that matter. So at least allow yourself to be exposed to and refreshed by this one man's vision and begin to see the new horizon line that he sets forth.

http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/05/01/1/a-conversation-with-fareed-zakaria

he'd make a good Secretary of State though.

Just using him as an example of what we're missing and need. But hey, Secretary of State sounds good, though I think our current corrupt government and it's infrastructure also needs to reflect the changes of the new reality. We'll need many like him to get the job done, as well as willingness to embrace change.

'nuff said.

:eyes:

Makes ya wonder, though, where the voices like his are in this country. Where's the "vision" talent?

This is the first time I've heard him talk at length and, boy, does he make a lot of sense! He's one of the few people I've heard who seems to truly understand what's going on in the world.

Have you ever heard Jim Wallis (Sojourner)? He reminds me a lot of him. They're both able to cut through all the media bs and get to the real heart of the problem.

Impressive interview...

:)

What's in a name?

He was singing the praises of the impending invasion, and saying how there
was no way it was being done for economic reasons. He may be a bright guy,
but someone like that is NOT whom I would want for Secretary of State.

Iraq was a good idea. It's only recently he's jumped on the "this is a mess" bandwagon.

about Iraq being referred to in this thread. Here's what it said:

While Zakaria initially supported using military force against Iraq, he argued for a United Nations-sanctioned operation and occupation with a much larger force (approximately 400,000 troops). He also called for a Bosnia or Kosovo-style occupation that was international, rather than American, in nature. He wrote a Newsweek cover-essay the week the Iraq war began entitled "The Arrogant Empire", which detailed the failures of the Bush foreign policy in the run-up to the war. He was an early and aggressive critic of the occupation, arguing against the disbanding of the Iraqi army and bureaucracy, which the administration accomplished under the guise of "de-Baathification". He predicted that accelerating the build-up of the Iraqi military would create a Shia and Kurdish army that would exacerbate the sectarian tensions in the country. Four months into the occupation, his columns bore such titles as "Iraq Policy is broken," and in September of 2003 he wrote a cover story for Newsweek entitled "So What's Plan B?" In February of 2005, the week before Iraq's elections, he wrote "...no matter how the voting turns out, the prospects for genuine democracy in Iraq are increasingly grim." In his October 2006 Newsweek cover essay, Zakaria called for a reduction in American troops in Iraq to 60,000 by the end of 2007.

And I admit his deep insider credentials make me extremely wary -

In 2006, he was named one of the 100 most influential graduates of Harvard University. He currently serves on the boards of Yale University, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, New America Foundation and Columbia University's International House. Mr. Zakaria is a recipient of The International Center's Award of Excellence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fareed_Zakaria

So after reading the rest of that Wikipedia page on him, I do think my initial enthusiasm for him is definitely overstated, under-informed and needs revision or a good dose of 'realism' itself. The interview with Rose was my first exposure to him (that I'm aware of), and it is a great discussion, though I didn't agree with everything he said.
I think he is a realist and well informed about the world. He is a staunch capitalist, however, and free trade advocate which is not viable in its current corrupt form. But I find the breadth of his views refreshing and his feel for how this country can transition into a new role within a global community, etc., much more inspirational than anything else I've been hearing lately.
Rather than throw the baby out with the bath water, I'd suggest you listen to the program when its available at the link I provided and see if you can hear him with fresh ears.

I'd like to hear more conversations like that going on.