TCTI: Too Crazy Too Ignore
 Dave Ross
pattymurray_ap.jpg
Dave Ross' question is whether this female superiority can really survive politics. (AP Photo/File)

Double check your bungee cord America, it looks like we're going over

BY Dave Ross  on December 13, 2012 @ 8:20 am (Updated: 8:47 am - 12/13/12 )

The President is off to Hawaii, with no resolution to the fiscal cliff talks in sight.

Leading us to wonder, what if women were in charge? A group of female senators told ABC's Diane Sawyer women would've gotten results by now. Maybe they're right.

I could see President Hillary and Speaker Palin going arm in arm to the ladies room and coming back with a solution.

In fact earlier this year, the Harvard Business Review surveyed over 7,200 business executives and found that women were hands-down better leaders than men. Not just because they're more nurturing and collaborative, but on almost every other leadership benchmark: initiative, self-development, integrity, honesty, getting results, building relationships.

It's all women, women, women.

And I don't doubt those results for a moment. My question is whether this female superiority can really survive politics. Whatever superior instincts women bring, the only way you get to keep your job in politics, male or female, is by winning elections. We don't choose our leaders by consensus, or by discernment, we elect them, and the way you win elections is by beating the competition's brains out, and that attracts a certain type of person.

And there ARE women in the negotiations! Fiscal supercommittee member Senator Patty Murray said, "We are not going to accept an unfair deal that hurts middle class America and protects the wealthiest Americans. Period."

She will beat your brains out.

Perhaps in a more nurturing way than a man would, but as her string of defeated challengers can tell you, it hurts just as much.

Dave Ross, KIRO Radio Talk Show Host
Dave Ross is co-host of The Ross & Burbank Show on KIRO Radio (weekdays 9-Noon) and never too far from the spotlight.
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Comments (31)


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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Dave, a bungee cord needs to be ties and uncut in order to bounce back.
    December 13, 2012 8:08 am
    And for this financial cliff, we have no guarantees that OUR bungee is anything more than several dozen rubber bands.

    But, what IF women were in charge? What If ???????

    Well, we do have 2 examples. If we had a President Gregoire, we would actually get some budget cuts. Not necessarily all those needed (1% for the 'arts') but SOME. On the other hand, she would probably go along with the current (Bush) tax rates for everyone. ... So that example is indecisive, but OKAY.

    But on the national level we DO have the 4 years of Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker. And that could be dangerous. ... Remember, she started 2009 being much more stalwart to the democrat base that even Obama ever decided to be. (I would have said dreamed, but I'm sure in his dreams...)... And proceeded to act as if the GOP would never again control the House (oops). ... And Harry Reid - ok, he's a guy, but ....... also tries to out do Obama.

    And God knows WHAT Sarah Palin would do - let's just leave that at that.

    .

    So, your answer, Dave, is not much difference at all. But that's understandable. After all, Thelma and Louise were girls.

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  • logical open mind wrote...
    dave R-I have noticed that women are quite different than men and have sisterhood until their position of power changes. Then sisterhood goes out the window.
    December 13, 2012 10:40 am
    Pelosi is a good negotiator?? Not divisive? Please. Also careful about these studies dave. Next time provide a link. Often these studies are not done in a proven and time tested manner in order to be objective. My wife has been a manager and had a much, much more difficult time with women. She charms the men and they behave, some of women have jealousy issues and also can't be charmed like most silly men unfortunately can.(I speak from experience.)
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  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    And I heard us exclaim as we dove out of sight...."Geronimo!"
    December 13, 2012 8:40 am
    I believe that going over the cliff is a foregone conclusion. All this shuffling and bellowing right now is merely posturing to shift the "blame" for administering the medicine we actually need to take anyway.

    We need to raise taxes back to the Clinton-era rates. If that means they go up across the board, then so they do. Taxation is never popular, but it can be structured so that it is fair.

    We need to reduce expenses dramatically. Lop 20% out of every department's budget. Yes, including defense. In fact, we should be trying to amass a surplus in the defense account for a while. Nuclear war is increasingly likely, not with huge nations like Russia or China but with little pea pot dictatorships like Syria or North Korea.

    We must instill some sanity into our entitlement programs. We can't sustain a system where working people pay taxes in order to pay a nearly equal number of retired people for tooling around the country in motor homes.

    If we go over the fiscal cliff, we will raise taxes and cut spending. If we negotiate a settlement of some kind between the red and blue fanatics, we will still have to raise taxes and cut spending. So, the point of a settlement is what, exactly?

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  • Forrest wrote...
    Good commentary Chuck.
    December 13, 2012 8:55 am
    Eliminate Bush tax cuts for everyone and cut programs across the board including the military. We simply can't continue to spend more that we take in and keep the country solvent.
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  • Lonestar wrote...
    Murray sez Bush Good, Clinton Bad
    December 13, 2012 8:58 am
    So the Clinton tax increases were unfair to the middle class and she is in favor of extending the Bush tax cuts which apparently were fair. Altzheimers is such a tragic disease!
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  • sportsguru wrote...
    What's with this
    December 13, 2012 10:09 am
    Pitting men against women? I vote for going over the cliff. I have a problem with the President going to Hawaii instead of staying in Washington DC and working to the end on this very important decision. I voted for him and have no problem saying that going to Hawaii is the wrong thing to do.
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  • DesertRez wrote...
    It doesn't matter
    December 13, 2012 10:33 am
    The current plans for tax increases won't make a bit of difference in regards to lowering the defecit much less the debt! No pol is going to cut entitlements since they directly affect the peasants and thus votes. That leaves you with two options: Grow the economy thus increasing revenues, or inflate our way out of debt. Growth is almost stagnant...
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  • deltta wrote...
    Must be nice
    December 13, 2012 11:59 am
    Getting to leave on vacation 2 weeks early. I'm on manatory OT to meet our commitments, I would hope our pres would do the same
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  • Seattle Dad wrote...
    Women are fine.
    December 13, 2012 12:00 pm
    Patty Murray probably can't balance her check book let alone spell Federal Budget. This is the person who told a young boy his mother died because she didn't have health insurance. Can we please get a grown up in the room. The Democrats MUST have one.
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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    No Liberals are going to do anything
    December 13, 2012 12:12 pm
    that the Dear Leader does not tell them to!
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  • HLC wrote...
    Patty was not only on the Super Committee.
    December 13, 2012 12:24 pm
    She was the chair. No leadership from her led us to this. Obozo is to stupid to compromise on a deal so lets go over the cliff and it still won't help us. We had our chance on Nov. 6th. and we blew it. Obozo has blown enough on green energy failures to pay a lot of bills and the fool wants to continue on that same path. Do they come any dumber? I doubt it.
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  • The Dude Abides wrote...
    Silly Dave Ross
    December 13, 2012 12:52 pm
    It doesn't matter what gender is in charge of the country. When you have one major political group pitted against the other, it's nearly impossible to accomplish any plans you may have. Imagine being the head coach of a football team. You have a master plan for how you want your team to look and play, but your offensive and defensive coordinators have the power to veto your ideas. You end up never reaching a consensus, and you're forced to compromise on everything. Now, the product you put on the field is a heavily diluted form of what you really want, and you just hope that somehow everything comes together. If that product fails, it's all your fault because you were the one hired to run things, even though it's not your vision out there. That's how I feel about this government. Whether the pres is republican or democrat, almost nothing ever gets down because of our exhaustingly complex system of checks and balances. I'm not saying some of them shouldn't be there, but we can lessen them a bit, can't we? Let's try letting our elected president - man or woman, democrat or republican - actually run the country the way he/she envisions it. For better or for worse, at least things will get shaken up in this country. I feel like we could use it.
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