Aug 02

A vote is not just a vote

Posted By: joangarry

RUDY and JUDY

Looks like Rudy packed Judith up and sent her back to the office after the Vanity Fair article. Rudy is a man with a mission and is smart enough to make liabilities disappear (can you say Andrew Giuliani?). Gail Collins’ op ed in this morning’s New York Times brought that home for me. And it made me think.

I firmly believe that a key to success in life and in work is the ability to develop, cultivate and sustain relationships. To meet someone, to know them well enough to appreciate the shoes they wear, to understand what motivates them, to empathize with them, to offer your perspective, to share yours.

I learned alot about this from my family and as a fundraiser, it has become clearer. You might get a donation once without building a relationship but you’ll never see another dime if you don’t build a relationship.

America needs a leader who gets this. Someone who understands that a vote is not just a vote. America needs someone who can create and sustain a relationship - with a colleague, with the leader of a rogue nation, with voters, with the American people. FDR knew this instinctively and with her daily syndicated columns (I would argue America’s first daily blog), Eieanor Roosevelt did too.

There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Rudy gets this. If a relationship doesn’t work, toss it overboard. Andrew disappeared, Donna Hanover refused to disappear but Rudy pretended she did, and now Judith is back in the office. Most telling is what we know about the relationship he has (or doesn’t) with his son. All of us have experienced strained relationships with our parents but come on.

As the campaign moves forward, rather than focusing on policy this and Iraq that, I suggest we all pay more attention to Rudy’s relationship skills. Once he begins to create a “relationship” with more voters, Americans will see that he’s interested in a vote. And that’s about it.

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