This is not the time for unmanaged ego.

Neither Hillary Clinton, nor Sarah Palin were at the rally in New York to oppose Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This is another example of Hillary Clinton’s unmanaged ego. She cancelled her rally appearance because she was prepared to exert more effort in opposing Sarah Palin than Ahmadinejad.

Hillary Clinton, like Sarah Palin, has a strong belief that a nuclear armed Iran poses a grave threat to the security of Americans and to our allies, that Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and that the risk that Iran would provide terrorists with a nuclear weapon is too great for the world to ignore. And yet, it would appear that her self-serving, personal agenda of not sharing a stage with Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is stronger than her need to show bi-partisan opposition to Ahmadinejad. Her ego could not rise above the fact that John McCain’s running mate would also be in attendance, stating that she was “blindsided” by Sarah Palin’s invitation to attend the rally. In fact, Senator Clinton’s self-righteous and unmanaged ego played a role in the Democrats pressurizing the event sponsors to disinvite Sarah Palin. Apparently the most important thing was not the presence of a Democrat but ensuring that Sarah Palin not be allowed to speak.

How are we supposed to feel about that? Hillary Clinton is a powerful, highly intelligent woman, who believes she is ready to lead when the phone rings in the oval office at 3:00 a.m., and yet she does not have the ability to manage her ego? I, for one, would not want someone, whose ego drives her, making decisions for me and our country. I would be afraid that her ego would take over every time she is “blind-sided” and faced with an uncomfortable situation. And in the world of today, there would be many situations like that. I have a feeling that it is her unmanaged ego that got in the way of her nomination as Democratic candidate.

If you have read my book Who’s in The Driver’s Seat?, you will know that I consider the opposite of ego to be ‘spirit.’ The behaviors and communications of spirited leaders are authentic, courageous and transparent. Leaders with strong spirit ask ‘what does this situation require of me?’ They do not ask ‘what do I require of this situation?’ If Hillary Clinton had done that she would have risen above her ego and shown her true spirit by showing her resolve on this grave national security issue and understanding that this is not the time for partisan posturing.

Where is Hillary Clinton’s spirit?