[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 98 (Thursday, July 15, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H5898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       A LEADER'S RESPONSIBILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, in London yesterday Prime Minister Tony 
Blair did something that leaders do. Speaking to the House of Commons, 
Mr. Blair said, ``I accept full responsibility for the way the issue 
was presented and, therefore, for any errors made.''
  Leaders lead, and leaders know the buck stops with them. Leaders 
lead, and leaders accept responsibility when things go wrong.
  An independent report in England blamed its intelligence community 
for massive intelligence failures before the Iraq war. What did Tony 
Blair do? The Prime Minister got up in front of his nation and the 
world and accepted personal responsibility.
  That did not happen when a similar report was released to the United 
States. The President did not accept responsibility. The President 
assigned blame.
  In 1961, President John F. Kennedy accepted full responsibility for 
the Bay of Pigs fiasco. It did not matter that the planning for the Bay 
of Pigs had started in the Eisenhower administration. It did not matter 
that the intelligence failures directly led to the foreign policy 
disaster that was the Bay of Pigs. President Kennedy stood before the 
Nation and the world and accepted personal responsibility.
  At one news conference not long afterward, President Kennedy used his 
legendary wit and intelligence to sum it up. ``There is an old 
saying,'' Kennedy said, ``that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat 
is an orphan.''
  The buck stops at the President's desk, except in this 
administration. Since the release of the U.S. report on pre-Iraqi 
intelligence failures, this President has done everything possible to 
pass the buck.
  During the administration of President Ronald Reagan, the Iran-Contra 
scandal was a crisis that shook the Nation to its core and the White 
House to its foundation. President Reagan was given ample opportunity 
to assign the blame to Oliver North. What did Ronald Reagan do? When 
asked directly about Mr. North, Ronald Reagan said, ``I do not feel 
betrayed. He has a fine record.''
  Leaders lead. Whatever your politics, you have to acknowledge that 
President Reagan was a leader. When our country faces a crisis, people 
look to the President for leadership.
  Not long ago, America faced a moral crisis. America faced an ethical 
crisis. America faced a military and political crisis. When pictures of 
prison abuse stunned the world, the world looked to America, to our 
President, for a response. The President did not stand up and accept 
responsibility.
  Outside the White House and then in an interview broadcast throughout 
the Middle East, the President did not or could not or would not tell 
the world he accepts responsibilities for the failures of the Americans 
under his command. He could not utter the words that the world needed 
to hear and that Americans needed to say.
  Over the last half century, Presidents from both political parties 
have braved grave crises. They did what leaders do. They did not pass 
the buck. They stood and accepted responsibility, until now.
  In little over 110 days, the American people will elect a new 
President, and leadership is fundamental to that choice.
  The British historian Arnold Toynbee once said, ``As human beings, we 
are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off our 
responsibility upon the shoulders of God or nature. We must shoulder it 
ourselves. It is up to us.''
  Martin Luther King Junior once said, ``The ultimate measure of a man 
is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where 
he stands at times of challenge and controversy.''
  In just over 110 days, this Nation will make the most important 
political decision of the next 4 years. Democrats and Republicans will 
argue issues, and that is expected, but fundamental to the selection of 
the person who leads the free world for the next 4 years is the quality 
of leadership. Leadership is more than a commercial or a campaign 
brochure. Leadership is one of the most important qualities the 
President must have. There is a record of what America expects and what 
Americans demand of their President. Leadership is at the top of the 
list.
  The President had to be taken out twice from the White House to 
finally say that he was sorry for what had happened to the Arab 
prisoners that were held in Iraq. You have to ask yourself, does this 
President believe that the requirement of his job is to accept the 
responsibility, Mr. Speaker? Because he has not shown it yet. He never 
has said, ``I accept responsibility.''
  One hundred and ten more days, Mr. Speaker.

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