Leadership Styles

For John, BLUF:  Ignore the man behind the curtain.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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This morning I came across, in The International Herald Tribune,♠ an article titled "In Second Term, Obama Is Seen as Using ‘Hidden Hand’ Approach".  That is, the "hidden hand" in governing this great nation.  Here is the lede and follow-on paragraph:

In the nearly two weeks since Egypt’s military seized power, President Obama has promoted a better federal bureaucracy, given a medal to George Lucas of “Star Wars” fame and had former President George Bush to the White House for lunch.  What he has not done is publicly address the violent upheaval in Cairo.

That is not to say Mr. Obama is uninvolved.  In the privacy of the West Wing, away from the cameras, he has made calls to leading figures in the Arab world and has met with advisers trying to influence the crisis.  But his low public profile on issues like immigration, Syria and health care underscores a calculated presidential approach that admirers consider nuanced and detractors call passive.

So, the question is, have we seen this approach to governing before.  The Reporter, Mr Peter Baker, gives us President Dwight David Eisenhower:

Some compare Mr. Obama’s approach to the “hidden hand” style of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who often steered events behind the scenes without being public about his role.  Jim Newton, the author of “Eisenhower:  The White House Years,” a book with back-cover blurbs from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry, said Mr. Obama was like the former president in avoiding major international conflict, relying more on covert action and letting Congress take the lead in legislation.

“In those senses, Obama does appear to me to be taking a page from Eisenhower’s playbook,” Mr. Newton said.  “What I don’t know, however, is how aggressively Obama is working out of view on these matters.  The essence of Eisenhower’s hidden hand, of course, is that there was real work going on that people didn’t know at the time.  If that’s true now, then Obama really is emulating Ike.  If, on the other hand, he’s simply doing nothing or very little, that would be passivity, not hidden-hand leadership.”

Here is Law Professor Ann Althouse's take on it.

My question is, is this really the "Hidden Hand" or is this really a less involved President, devolving decisions and execution to lower level officials of his Administration?

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Yes, The International Herald Tribune (and New York Times) is behind a paywall, but my understanding is you can access a few articles each month.