Technocrary In Government & Leadership Qualifications

    In our discussions this past week in the OLLI class I'm taking at UC-Davis, it became obvious that the qualifications for political leadership has markedly changed.  What we now expect from those in leadership is what Dwight Eisenhower was known for possessing--the quality of relying upon his staff and those under them to supply options in the decision-making process and for sound reasoning to back the options up with facts and data supporting each one. Thereupon, as commander-in-chief and President, Ike would decide upon the course of action to pursue.
     That is to say, today's leader must rely upon those under him, i.e., underling technocrats, to do the arguing armed with data to support their own points of view.  The leader then simply must decide upon what to do and make his decision transparent to the electorate and the nation.  Today's political leader is sort of a marketing strategist rather than a skillful tactician. The path he chooses has already been supplied him by his staff and advisers, who have been trained in the graduate schools to weigh technical data judiciously.  They are the true advocates, the lawyers before the judge--their boss (as it were)!
      This profound change is ever-present when one reviews how the US has become the technical adviser to governments and their military all over the world!  The US must present a rational plan to assist the politicians in their own governments to maintain control and effectively pursue peace.  The goal of US involvement in governments abroad, I believe, is to bring about the political stability that harmonizes the various groups and parties extant in their region.  What a profound change!  To realize that universal aim, the US must also assure that those political agencies it seeks to affect will be capable of controlling their people!  That implies the latter's intensive training in marketing and sales, e.g., Obama's experience as community organizer.