What if Obama was just some guy at your office?

September 4, 9:52 AMConservative Politics ExaminerKathy Shaidle

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Rudy Guiliani stole my idea, darn it!

Last night, in his fantastic RNC keynote speech (video) Guiliani asked Americans to pretend that Obama and McCain were just two guys applying for an important job, not running for President, with all the emotions, history and drama baggage that brings with it.

I had the same idea last week, but got too busy to really work on it. I might as well play around with the notion here and now...

When you got to work this morning, you heard a rumor around the coffee maker: that a particular Guy was in the running to take over as CEO.

This guy's only been working at your company for 143 working days.

During that time, it was pretty obvious to everyone that he really wanted the top spot. Hey, that's understandable. Ambition is a good thing. But he wore his ambition on his sleeve, and it was kind of off putting.

He didn't even pretend to care more about the company than his own position in it. Sure, he said all the right things, gave terrific presentations using all the current marketing and business jargon, but he also had some pretty strange ideas about how to run a business. They sounded good, but... Hadn't other companies tried the same "innovative" ideas back in the 80s and 90s. They didn't always work out, and some of those companies went out of business. Maybe he was too young to remember those stories. Didn't they teach him about New Coke in his MBA program?

 He also said "I" a lot. Sometimes you felt you were being scolded or looked down on. His habit of bringing everything back to his time in Indonesia or Hawaii or some Ivy League school made you feel kind of small.

Other times his priorities seemed weird: he was obsessed with the office recycling program and with making sure the stock photos in the annual report showed people of all races. He seemed less interested in what was in the report itself. 

Sometimes he made really silly mistakes, like saying there were 57 states. Worse, he made the mistakes with such confidence, even arrogance, that you wanted to laugh. But you were afraid to, in case someone complained to HR. You couldn't be too careful these days about who and what you laughed at, or even just criticized, in the office.

Now it seems pretty clear that he might just be running the whole company pretty soon. Other people have been there longer, and have been more loyal and hard working. Why was he being taken so seriously? Where did a young guy like this get his nerve? It made you wonder about him even more.

Was this some kind of affirmative action thing? You knew better than to even broach the subject. It could cost you your job.

So: be honest. How would you react if this wasn't a Presidential election, but was going on at your workplace. Really think about it. Ask your friends what they'd think.

I know it puts things in perspective for me.