There is no such thing as a born leader. Leaders aren’t born, they just are. They rise to the circumstances of their times. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt rose to the fore twice as a national leader. He became President in the middle of a calamitous depression, and created programs that dug us out stronger than before. And he threaded the needle in keeping us out of WWII, while still supporting Great Britain, until Japan forced us into the war. And the rest is history.

But here’s the thing. For his time, Roosevelt was a master of the media. He was plainspoken and forthcoming, and put it on the line. Like Biden, he didn’t sugar coat it. His iconic fireside chats were a master class mass communication. With the bully pulpit, there was nothing the GOP could do to countermand his speeches.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. I am predisposed to like Zelensky because, like me, he is a former stand up comic. He is also a successful sitcom star, and the owner of a successful media company. There is nothing in that resume that would qualify him to lead his nation in a time of war with a purported superpower.

But he is. In fact, from where I’m sitting, Zelensky belongs right up there with FDR when it comes to historical wartime legacy. Here’s why. Time magazine just released an exclusive article with Zelensky in his presidential bunker, and what he said shows that he has more brains for breakfast than Putin has all day.

In the article he spoke about his role as commander in chief in a wartime struggle. And Zelensky said something like, As the President of the Ukraine, I am of course the commander of the military. But I am not a trained general, what do I know about leading forces into mortal combat. I see my role as being Communicator in Chief. It is my job to get in front of the world and plead our case.

Bin-fucking-go! For reasons I’ll never understand, the Russians failed to take out the Ukrainian communications and media outlets in the first days of the war.
As a result, Zelensky was able to put our daily uplifting, supportive messages to all Ukrainians. And later, he was able to put out messages in Russian, his native language, to Russian citizens asking them to protest to stop the carnage. But more important, it gave him an international platform for his cause.

At this point, I think it would be shorter to list the number of national legislatures that Zelensky hasn’t spoken to, rather than list the number he has. And every remote speech is met with the same response, a riotous standing ovation. Zelensky is passionate, sincere, honest, and pounds home the fact that his innocent country was brutally attacked by a Russian aggressor, and pleading for aid to repel the invasion. And the military aid and sanctions are pouring in.

And in the meantime, what is Vlad the Imp doing? Pretty much jack shit. Putin is trapped mentally and emotionally in the glory days of the Soviet Union. He led up to the war by grooming Russians to hate Ukrainians, they were wayward children, and Russians with funny accents. They’re not really people. But now, as Putin is getting his ass handed to him by the Ukrainians, the US, and NATO, he and his lap poodle Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have started spreading dark hints at the war expanding beyond Ukraines borders, since the US and Nato are fighting a proxy war, and refusing to deny the possible use of Nuclear weapons.

What. A. Fucking. Moron. Russia is a second rate power with a third rate economy, but it has persisted for far too long in rattling it’s nuclear sabre to get its way. The world has been waiting for a champion like Ukraine to stand up and bloody the Russian bear’s nose. And when he’s finally getting his wussy Russian ass kicked, Putin threatens nukes? Man! Talk about a motivation for the rest of the world to get complete Ukrainian victory!

So, there you have it. Just like FDR, Volodimir Zelensky is the perfect man at the perfect time. Because, just like FDR, zelensky instinctively understood the importance of the mass media, and using it to create and shape his global message. Especially when going up against a mental midget who doesn’t care what anybody else thinks. Here endeth the lesson.

 

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9 COMMENTS

  1. You know, I do wish people would stop referring to the rants of Don John et al as a ‘bul;ly pulpit’.

    Like ‘gay’, which originally meant bright, happy and carefree, the meaning seems to have changed. The ORIGINAL meaning of ‘bully’ wasn’t someone who stole your lunch money at school, but ‘great’ (as in ‘bully for you’) and the term ‘bully pulpit’ was coined by Theodore Roosevelt to point out that he now had a great place to talk to the people – NOT to threaten them

    • I agree with you completely. I regret the new use of the word “gay”. It was such a great word for describing a happy person doing happy things. The English language changes every day. It is a living language, not a dead one like Latin. Some of the changes are good and some are not.

  2. “For reasons I’ll never understand, the Russians failed to take out the Ukrainian communications and media outlets in the first days of the war.”

    I imagine Putin was hoping that Ukrainians would see the Russian advance moving so swiftly (and then capturing those communications and media outlets) and be more willing to surrender. And Putin likely didn’t want those things too badly damaged *IF* he did manage to achieve his objectives. After all, just imagine all those Ukrainian outlets being able to promote pro-Russian (and, more importantly, pro-Putin) propaganda on a daily, even hourly, basis.
    Resistance fighters can get by with fairly small portable communications equipment but, you take out a radio or TV station, it takes time (and money) to get those back up and running.
    Mind you, this is only a theory.

    • A credible one nonetheless, Joseph. Consider that the current Russian oligarch paradigm favors industries that are uncomplicated to run, i.e. oil and other resource extraction ops. Sophisticated technology and machinery is the bottom of that heap, which is why Russia got so dependent on foreign imports for its tech in, well, anything you care to name.

      Does this sound like a crowd that could fix a toaster, never mind a bombed-out radio station?

  3. One of the things about Zelensky is that great comedians know how to turn their personal suffering into comedy. The ability to see and capitalize on the ironies of life and do it in a way the audience can relate to is a special skill. I think it shows a level of intelligence that, of course, certain other people just don’t have. So yes, Zelensky is a great communicator, with a depth of heart and soul we can all relate to.

    • As someone else noted, the fact that Zelensky stood up to Trump should tell us all we need to know regarding his character.

    • You mentioned something people tend to overlook, or don’t know in the first place. Most of us have known funny people during our lives. Almost everyone can recall the proverbial class clown or two, or someone who could crack some good jokes and be the life of the party. However, a professional and more importantly successful comedian tends to be truly smart. The know a LOT about a LOT of stuff, and they take life seriously and look at things with a cold practicality. If you ever saw the movie Punchline there’s an exchange between Sally Fields and Tom Hanks where she’s frustrated by him and his attempts to provide guidance already when he pisses her off. She gets nasty and says everything is a joke to him. He looks her dead in the eye and says “Lady – NOTHING is a joke to me and that’s why I’m a comedian and you’re not.

      Zelinsky might not have been a politician but he was an accomplished comedian and did political satire which tells me at least he understood the game better than the average newbie. He also is humble enough to know what he doesn’t know, and apparently gifted with the ability to know which advisors & particularly military ones know their shit and can be trusted. A career comedian is someone I’d expect to be able to know bullshit when its being slung. But perhaps the most important thing he’s done since the war began was project courage, calm and resolve. As far as I’m concerned the Ukrainian people are right to trust his leadership. And the rest of the world needs to keep backing him up against Russia and the few friends Russia has left.

  4. The most stark contrast is between a leader who stays in harms way to bolster his nation & the craven swine we have in our government. All fucking talk…behind the scenes. Flip flopping like fish on the deck. All bluster, holding weapons in pr stunts but too cowardly to own their lies. I never had an acid trip this fucking evil. Problem is this is reality created by SOBER assholes. There will be no coming down after the thrills & chills. I feel like a child trapped in a car on an expedition, with Hannibal at the wheel talking about the dinner he’s planned. Bad Karma all around.

    • There’s a killer on the road
      His brain is squirmin’ like a toad
      Take a long holiday
      Let your children play
      If you give this man a ride, sweet family will die
      Killer on the road, yeah

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