Why did we predict Obama would win the 2008 election and why are we predicting he will do it again in 2012?

Gordon Bell and I decided to explore one of the invisible trait of leadership that is as primordial as early points of evolutionary track- the essence.  Most successful leaders (good or bad) of all time had/have the essence.  We felt it from Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Masayoshi Son, Hiroshi Mikitani, Tom Cech, Dalai Lama, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Bill Clinton, and John F. Kennedy. 

   

Leadership that president Obama exercised past four years as our president and before that as a politician is fundamentally of a leadership quality of a politepreneur(tm).  He has taken risks that others dare to charter in, utilized challenges as opportunities, and compromised and collaborated where defeats are certain. 

The reasons we predict his reelection are not political ...they are about humanity.  We may not agree with any or all of a politician’s viewpoints and actions, yet I’ll vote for them based on what I perceive about them as beings.

Thus, the overall reason he will be reelected is his consummate abilities as a communicator.  I believe that Obama wants to do his level best ...as long as the American public wants him on the job.  If he were to lose the election, he would keep on going as he would after serving a second term. 

We honestly cannot imagine a human with his degree of magnitude.  We revel at the man and genuinely believe his critics do not really comprehend him.  He truly is a one-of-a- kind man.  No one on the scene today can compete and win anything from him.

And, who he is readily visible when he walks up to the podium and speaks.  And, it’s also seen in his demeanor when in a casual situation and playing sports, etc.  Let’s say they’re 10 things a speaker can do to be influencing and persuasive and win by just doing 7 of the 10 ...Obama does 11. 

He has ethos, meaning he quickly and easily establishes rapport.  He is as sincere, authentic and transparent as one can be in a system that prohibits sincerity, authenticity, and transparency.

While he is ahead in ethos, a value or characteristic so vital, it alone can win any contest, he does or has more of one other vital element never discussed regarding presentation skills...  essence.

Essence is very difficult to identify and describe, so we will do our best.

Essence is a form of energy.  It is not the same energy used to perform.  It is a deeper energy that used with the energy to perform, creates a glow or a presence.  And, presence is very difficult to describe.  You just sense or feel it.

In the animal kingdom, it is sensed by the others in a group.  One dog in a pack of dogs will fast be the pack’s leader.  They don’t negotiate the leadership, it just happens.  The dog with the strongest essence leads and the rest follow.  When there is a tie, they fight to see who wins.

Since we are all essentially the same as animals in this regard, we too elevate the guy with the strongest essence, in this case the politician to leadership ...because, he or she has the essence we respect and even revere.  It is usually an unconscious and seldom if ever spoken about decision.

On the flip side, if we do not like that politician’s policies or affiliations, we tend to have an emotional response and might even demonstrate anger.  We may be followers of other leaders who themselves declare their opposition and so we take sides blowing the theory apart.  So, humans are more complex than animals.

We even witnessed actions that some might consider absolutely insane for the first couple of years of the Obama presidency.  That was simply a knee jerk reaction that grew in magnitude only to match the magnitude of Barack Obama.

 In spite of his more than obvious qualities, some just do not like a person with great essence.  And, because they have exceptional essence, we attempt to fight or respond to the heightened essence in a comparable and often vengeful manner.

The one leader who Obama most resembles in the regard of exceptional essence is JFK (John F Kennedy).  Both JFK and Obama had/have the ability to stand up and remain silent yet communicate in spades.

Allow us to better explain what essence is:

Essence is the virtual inexplicable primal energy we inherit ancestrally through our mother’s and father’s line.  And, their genes changed based on the life experiences they go through, what they adapt to, what they eat, what they think, how long they live, and on and on. 

It goes into the fetal cells from the sperm and the ova into your body.  The original essence is stored in the lower lumbar and feeds the whole body.

It determines genetically:

·         how long we are going to live

·         how strong we are going to be

·         when we are going to go into menopause

·         when we are going to get gray hair

·         when we are going to lose bone density

·         how long our offspring will live

·         how much will, drive and courage we will have

·         how strong, young and vital our body is.

It will determine everything about our makeup, our brain, our psychological outlook on life, whether we have more courage, more fear and how we can adapt to stress.

It’s very fundamental ...one of the most important things about our physical existence that we have to respect and understand. 

Doesn’t this explain the factor that differentiated JFK from Richard Nixon and Barack Obama from John McCain, and now from Mitt Romney?

Essence determines how a communicator will appear, stand or sit.  It influences the expressions through their eyes, their body language, and their entire demeanor.

During the 2008 Presidential Campaign, CNN occasionally put both McCain and Obama on the same screen split down the middle.  John McCain was and is a good speaker; however, he was no match to Obama. 

Obama made many fewer body movements, which unconsciously is perceived as solid, strong, steady, reliable, etc. especially movement of the head. 

No one, not even his opponents can say he has not exuded leadership characteristics regarding his role of Commander in Chief.  He took risks few would and pulled them off with precision.  Of course, he was blessed with a Navy Seals team who’s caliber of expertise was perhaps unavailable to previous presidents.

But that tends to be a part of or accompany the magic such essence.  People with such essence appear to be lucky.  They are more intuitive then most others.

Strong essence is the foundation of their being.  The Indian and other Asian use the candle to explain essence.  They call essence Jing.

In terms of the candle:  The jing is the wax.  The flame and wick are the Atma/Chi or the type of energy needed to move etc., and the flame is what they call Shen or the glow.  Obama simply glows with treasured radiance and has a unique aura.

We predict that enough voters who are responsive to the man and not as much his policies and politics will vote for him as they did in 2008 because no one on the scene as yet can compete with his essence.

                          

                                                                              - Ryan Baidya and Gordon Bell