Mark P. Fisher
In the midst of the post-debate dust-up, the nation is focused on the words and phrases used by both candidates — not just what was said, but how it was said.
Presidential debates are all about how many facts you can get across in two minutes. Can you respond to your opponent with an aggressive tone in one minute and then move on to the next topic? Apparently, sarcasm and short phrases are the yardstick to measure effectiveness.
In reality, none of this is a testament to the president or the administration's ability to run the White House. Would someone just run into the Oval Office and demand that someone write a two-minute essay on a topic and then check if they did it?
I never have.
In my job, I had the opportunity to hire people for the team I lead. When interviewing candidates for a position, I never asked anyone questions during the interview. Their resumes listed the “minimum required” qualities for the job. I wanted to know how curious, humble, and willing they were to admit mistakes, as evidenced by their past actions. The vividness of the stories told helped me know what kind of people they were and whether I wanted them on my team.
The examples from other interviewed candidates lacked detail. They were vague in specificity. Sometimes they were fifth-grade book reports from people who hadn't even read the book. “I heard it from someone,” “That's what they always do,” or “Everyone says that” doesn't mean anything. How you say you did it is not as valuable as what you actually accomplished. How you did it is also important.
For these presidential “interviews,” we've spent seven years watching both candidates and their teams in action. We know what they say, what they do, and how they do it.
Who had the most stable staff, who didn't treat people and groups with contempt, who learned from experts and from failure, and who produced economic, social, and environmental progress? Who was, and remains, focused on expanding freedom and respecting all Americans regardless of race, gender, or faith? And, of course, who provided leadership on the world stage, supporting Ukraine, standing up to authoritarian leaders, and supporting our allies?
This is what I have witnessed over the past three-plus years of the Biden Administration, and in my observation, this was not seen during the four years of the Trump Administration.
Seven years of observation will provide all the information we need.
We don't know what's going to happen in the next few weeks, what decisions President Biden will make regarding his campaign. We can't predict the future. If the president chooses to continue with his campaign, I would ask myself: “Which people will I hire?”
Focusing on what has been done and how it has been done makes my decision crystal clear. I will look at the results, the actions and the words, whether they are from President Biden or members of the larger Democratic team. I humbly ask you to look at the evidence and draw your own conclusions.
Mark P. Fisher lives in Dover.
