I found a blog post on Multiply and found it quite interesting and telling. 

Legendary auto executive Lee Iacocca has a question for every American: Where have all the leaders gone?

The most widely recognized business executive of all time asks the tough questions that America's leaders must address:

• What is each of us giving back to our country?

• Do we truly love democracy?

• Are we too fat and satisfied for our own good?

• Why is America addicted to oil?

• Do we really care about our children's futures?

• Who will save the middle class?

Where Have All the Leaders Gone?

 By Lee Iacocca, Catherine Whitney

 

The two party system ?
   
   Remember Lee Iacocca, the VP at Ford credited with the birth of the
   Mustang, the K-car and the Mini-van, the man who rescued
   Chrysler,corporation from
   their death throes, and the owner of the famous quote, "Lead, follow,
   or get out of the way"? Well, he' s back! He has a new book, and here are
   some excerpts.
  
   Lee Iacocca writes:

   'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening?
   Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've
   got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff,
   we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even
   clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of
   getting mad,everyone sits around and nods their heads when the
   politicians say,'Stay the course'
   Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the
   damned   'Titanic' I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the bums out!'
   You  might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I
   have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
   The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in
   handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning
   and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom-poms'
   instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my
   parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.

   I've had enough. How about you?
   I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're
   not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
   The Biggest   
   'C' is Crisis ! Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in
   times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk
   theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen
   a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world
   comes tumbling down. George Bush, Dick Chaney and who is this Bozo coming
   up next?

   One of the most Liberal Idiots in the U. S. Senate and he is talking
   about disarming America. I can't believe the American people are
   seeing what he is about to do to this country. May God have mercy on us
   all.
  
   On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other
   time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A
   Hell of a Mess. So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with
   no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest
   deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing
   edge to Asia, while our once-great Companies are all moving offshore. We're
   getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and
   nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are the worst in the
   world. Our borders are like sieves.
  
   The middle class is being squeezed every which way. These are times
   that cry out for leadership and we are getting ready to put the most Liberal
   Senator in the U. S. Senate in as our next President because we want to
   be fair and elect someone just because of his race. We don't have time to be fair,
   we need a strong leader. But when you look around, you've got to ask:
   'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative
   communicators?

   Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and
   common sense?

   I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I hope you get the point. Name
   me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take
   off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent
   billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know
   how to do is react to things that have already happened. Name me one
   leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina.

   Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the
   hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made
   in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down, fingers
   crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Well guess what people? We
   are having more floods right now. What are we doing to help these people
   out.

   Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan.
   Figure out what you're going to do the next time. Why are we allowing people
   to build in flood plains anyway? If you build in a flood area, expect to
   be flooded and deal with it. Don't expect the Government to bail you out.

   Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can
   restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. All they seem to be
   thinking now-days is getting themselves bigger salaries and bonuses. Who would
   have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three'
   referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more
   important, what are we going to do about it? More than likely nothing!

   Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down
   the debt, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care
   problem.The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at
   our country and milking the middle class dry. I have news for the gang
   in Congress and the Senate. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do
   nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and
   our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
 
   What is everybody so afraid of?

   That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break.

   Why don't you guys show some spine for a change? I honestly don't think
   any of you have one!

   Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here.
   I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope; I
   believe in America ....

   In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America's
   greatest moments I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the
   'Great Depression', 'World War II', the 'Korean War', the
   'Kennedy Assassination', the 'Vietnam War', the 1970s oil crisis, and
   the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11.


   If I've learned one thing, it's this:

   You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for
   somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a
   better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That' s the
   challenge.

   I'm raising in this book. It's a call to 'Action' for people who, like
   me, believe in America . It's not too late, but it's getting pretty
   close.

   So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've
   had 'enough.'

   Make a 'real contribution' by sending this to everyone you know and care
   about......our future is at stake!
  
  
   
    HELLO! ANYBODY OUT THERE???????????

A very good question don't you think?  We should be seeking answers ouraelves and taking actiion.  Our current leadership has failed... Our incoming leadership has no real track record and his team of advisors do have records of failure, greed and largess - lar·gess also lar·gesse  (lär-zhs, -js, lärjs)

Hi Jim,

Thanks for sharing. 
An excellent read, this is what we (you, I and many others) have been trying to get
across. It is like we are 'voices in the wilderness crying out'. 
So many people have become comfortable in their comfort zones in their complacency
and do not want to move out, yet they are going to be forced out and then wonder what happened..

Amanda

It's no wonder, Mr Iacocca is and American icon!! 

He's so right.  Why are there all of a sudden so many blind people out there? - they's been snowed and never saw it coming!!  Where HAVE the leaders gone?  I am pretty hard pressed to name ONE, much less many!!  Where is the creativity, the anger and the outrage about what is happening in this country  - not to mention what we are about to let happen? 

Thanks for sharing this, Jim.  Mr. Iacocca still writes beautifully and obviously still has the super creative mind!!  He is without a doubt, still the great leader he always was!

Judy

Hi Jim, Amanda and Judy,

I have no doubt the leaders of yesterday  are gone  Judy you sure tacked it to the fence .. just let happen and about to let happen. WHERE ARE The protesters? what every happened to thoses that had a beef yelling and screaming foul? I believe we have become so politically correct we don't know when to say ," H@ll no we ain't gonna take it<" for fear of offending some liberal twit ..

Leadership has to start in the home .

Mr Iacocca is a brilliant man and I agree a great leader.

Amanda , they can't say we didn't warn them now can they ?

Geketa

Hello Jim, - as host - Amanda, Judy, and Geketa :-)

I tried to hold myself and not post what I'm going to now?! ... but I don't know why, these days, during your election campaign, these came to my mind on and on.

First, I have to go back and retell you something from our not so long ago lived history! In our "socialist" "golden ages" we were fighting to build  our multilaterally  developed, socialist society!? (I just wonder what you think while reading all these, bombastic words of ... ) These are just a few samples of the many "words of wisdom" written by some "enlightened" "sycophants" for our "beloved" leaders and "parents of the whole country" ... one could never have a whatever speech without using these words and lots more! (I tell you all these just to make a faint picture of what I mean with this post)

... however the "words" must have been used - not just plain like that - but with lots of passion and feelings (spreading love - of course!) ... so it won't be surprising for you if I say this wouldn't been possible without "creating the new kind of person" - not kind of kindness but type, sort!? I'm not too sure what that was meant to be, but I think it should have been some one who do not think too much but work (as one of the most stupid slogans I ever heard was: "WE WORK NOT THINK" - in our first days after we've got rid of our communist "parents", and of course is an excellent order follower, with less or preferably NO DREAMS, NO HOPES, NO WILL, and so on... just some kind of little robots

... seams they should have been gone over there and learn from the most blamed society leaders (CAPITALISM = EXPLOITATION OF THE MAN BY THE MAN FOR THE MAN SOCIETY - and as such you can easily see how bad looking that was meant to be introduced to the people!) as we were the really DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY where everybody is equal to everybody - nobody had anything (but the leaders?! - they were leaders after all!!!) Why I said they should have learned from you? This post shows me that perhaps this was the new man our "socialist society" was looking for! Just PRAY and DO NOTHING ELSE was the key! - sorry to say this, don't mean to offend anyone! Anything done beside those two are dangerous for the future!!! (their future I mean)

I very much hope you could get my point with this very winding post of mine! Is difficult for me to remember these things and think in English in the main time! Those days even meeting a foreigner on the street and replying to an incidental question of him was considered to be "out of line" and you could be easily considered to be a traitor! The main idea and foundation of those days was:

COMMUNITY IN EQUALITY OF EVERYTHING: OPINIONS, THINKING, BELONGINGS

and

WHO IS NOT WITH US IS AGAINST US AND AS SO, IS AN ENEMY!

I'm not sure why all these came to my mind and why I felt to share them with you?! They just did and I HOPE I won't be crucified for posting them exactly here!? In fact - as I've said - I don't even know why I did this quite here!

In case you can understand something out of my "retell" here than I hope you'll consider it worthy to think and ponder upon it at least a while!

Thank You for reading any way :-)

With friendship,
Anamaria