The September 11th attack
Some leaders rose to occasion
By Jerry Burris
Advertiser Editorial Editor
We call on our political leaders for many things, not the least of which is leadership in times of crisis.
By this, I don't mean leadership that involves having the right information and making the right decisions. There is another kind of leadership we seek, one that depends on rhetoric, the right combination of confidence, compassion and rock-solid conviction that the right person is at the helm.
Over the tragic past week, we saw examples of this kind of leadership across the spectrum, from spectacular to nearly useless.
It added up to an important real-life lesson in this most difficult of political skills, a skill that every elected official knows will be called into service at one time or another.
The heaviest burden on this front, obviously, fell on President Bush. His performance gained strength as the week wore on and our need for leadership grew more intense.
In the first hours following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Bush did not appear up to the task. In part, this was not his fault. Security officials felt there was a credible threat to the president, Air Force One and perhaps the White House. That led Bush to a hop-scotch run across the country, and a few brief and somewhat unfocused news conferences.
One can only imagine what the White House knew about the threat they faced. So it was entirely reasonable to keep the president away from the symbols of his ultimate authority.
But harsh as it may sound to say it, George W. Bush is the commander in chief and ultimately has the final call. As a leader, he had to face danger and give us the symbols and substance we desperately sought.
As the week wore on, Bush stepped more fully into his role. His impromptu chat with reporters in the Oval Office was particularly impressive — his steel and compassion showed through clearly.
By contrast, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was magnificent from the start.
Giuliani has had more than his share of personal troubles and tragedy. But when disaster struck, Giuliani rose superbly to the challenge. He was confident, in command of the facts, calm and in constant communication with his shattered constituents. He was both reassuring and comforting. The personal pain of the tragedy was also starkly visible on the mayor's face, but that, too, seemed to help. He was not beyond the suffering we all felt.
Across a continent and an ocean, local political leaders heard the same call. Clearly, their burden was unfathomably less heavy than that faced by Bush and Giuliani. But they knew they had a responsibility.
It was unnecessary for Gov. Cayetano or Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris to hold news conferences or show up at local disaster centers. Their work did not need to be conducted in public.
But because we have come to expect it, they were there. As we head into the coming political season, then, we have yet another yardstick by which to measure those who seek our vote: Do we believe they are the kind of person who — in times of deepest crisis — can truly lead?
