Mom and Dad's Emails: Lee Iaccoca Urban Legend and rebuttal

My mom and dad like to send me emails about a wide variety of stuff.


Here's one my mom (an avid Republican) sent me recently. Make sure you read her sister's reply at the bottom of the post.

Subj: LEE IACOCCA SPEAKS OUT!

Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He's now 82 years old and has a new book, 'Where Have All The Leaders Gone?'.

Lee Iacocca Says:

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage with this so called president? We should be screaming bloody murder! We've got a gang of tax cheating clueless leftists trying to steer our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even run a ridiculous cash-for-clunkers program without losing $26 billion of the taxpayers' money, much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, 'trust me the economy is getting better..'

Better? You've got to be kidding. This is America , not the damned, 'Titanic'. I'll give you a sound bite: 'Throw all the Democrats out along with Obama!'

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.

The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs.. While we're fiddling in Afghanistan, Iran is completing their nuclear bombs and missiles and nobody seems to know what to do. And the liberal press is waving 'pom-poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the 'America' my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest 'C' is Crisis! (Iacocca elaborates on nine C's of leadership, with crisis being the first.)

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with thumb up your butt and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess, so here's where we stand.

We're immersed in a bloody war now with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. But our soldiers are dying daily.

We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the world, and it's getting worse every day!

We've lost the manufacturing edge to Asia, while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs.

Gas prices are going to skyrock again, and nobody in power has a lucid plan to open drilling to solve the problem. This country has the largest oil reserves in the WORLD, and we cannot drill for it because the politicians have been bought by the flea-hugging environmentalists.

Our schools are in a complete disaster because of the teachers union.

Our borders are like sieves and they want to give all illegals amnesty and free healthcare.

The middle class is being squeezed to death every day.

These are times that cry out for leadership.

But when you look around, you've got to ask: 'Where have all the leaders gone?' Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.

Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo?

We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.

Everyone's hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping the government will make it better for them. Now, that's just crazy.. Deal with life.

Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, look what Obama did about it!

Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.

I have news for the Chicago gangsters in Congress. We didn't elect you to turn this country into a losing European Socialist state. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on NBC or CNN news will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change?

Had Enough? Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope - I believe in America . In my lifetime, I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: The 'Great Depression on,' 'World War II,' the 'Korean War,' the 'Kennedy Assassination,' the 'Vietnam War,' the 1970's oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years since 9/11.

Make your own contribution by sending this to everyone you know and care about. It's our country, folks, and it's our future. Our future is at stake!!

According to Urban Legend, Iaccoca didn't even really write this (I thought if I got it on my email, it must be true): "The above text, though based on a passage written by former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca, bears scant resemblance to the original, which appeared as the first chapter of Where Have All the Leaders Gone?, a book by Iacocca and Catherine Whitney published by Simon & Schuster in 2007.


In brief, what originated as a sharp critique of President George W. Bush and his administration has been anonymously revised to make it appear that Iacocca blames Barack Obama and the Democrats for all the country's ills."


The really funny part about this particular "send" by my mom is her sister's reply (little sister is a Democrat). Here is my aunt's reply:

Where was Iacocca's outrage when George W. Bush lied about Saddam Hussein having "weapons of Mass destruction" and dragged us into a war in Iraq after 9-11 when we should have stayed and fought in Afghanistan? Why did Bush do that???? Because he wanted to get back at Saddam Hussein for a threat against his daddy years earlier. Too many young men have died because of his little revenge!!

Why else did we go to war in Iraq (besides Bush's revenge)?? OIL !!!!!! Dick Cheney is part of all this, too.

Where was his outrage when both of Bush's wars were not funded (and not included in the budget) which is another reason we have such a huge deficit?

Where was his outrage when Bush has given the top 2% of Americans the biggest tax cut for the last eight years? Wake up, people. That doesn't create jobs! Wake up people -- the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer!!

Where was his outrage when Bush gave all the money to bail out the stock market? They turned around and gave bonuses to the fools who put this country in a mess with their fancy way of trading and dealing with mortgages, etc. At least the loan (not bail out) to GM helped keep some jobs for Americans and it will be paid back.

President Obama is trying to help the American people. He has reached out to the Republicans over and over and all they want to do is say no to anything he tries to do. The republicans are only looking out for their wealthy friends. They don't care one iota about this country.

Republicans can't stand the fact that we have a democratic president (and a black one at that). Hmm -- do I smell a bit of racism, too?? If they had their way, they would run this country forever (Carl Rove's evil plan). God forbid. Every time the republicans run this country into the ground, the democrats get stuck trying to clean up their mess.

This country is falling apart because of the eight years of George Bush. He and the republicans don't want to see anyone who might really need help get it. It's more important that the rich get richer!! Whenever a Bush is in office, this country gets screwed! Remember when his brother screwed us all with the bonds while his daddy was in office years ago. Who paid for his mess-up?? Not him.....all of us! Thank God, "W" didn't get to privatize Social Security like he wanted.

So, don't give me any phony outrage from Mr. Iacocca. And don't give me any bull about Bush being a great president!

WOW! Tell us how you really feel, auntie!


I love my mother and my aunt dearly, but someone should tell them that ALL POLITICIANS ARE FULL OF SHITE!