A tale of two leaders

Over the last couple of weeks The Gleaner's Editors' Forum has generated a lot of attention due to the leaders of the two main political parties being the special guests. So much so, that many now want a seat at the Forum.

Edward Seaga was due to be the first in the hot seat followed by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson. The dates were later shifted and the Prime Minister was first in the seat.

Both men were frank, forthright and put in a creditable performance. I was struck by both their levels of conviction and it was really something to see these seasoned politicians fielding questions from the finest newspaper pros around. Both men gave a good account of themselves, so what was the salient difference?

Well, P.J was very much the consummate lawyer. To each question he listened, cogitated and then responded. He declared his health was in good condition permitting him to endure the rigours of a bruising campaign, he said this would be his last general election battle and that at 68, it was time he put his feet up. He even said that he had not identified a successor, seeing that particular exercise as futile.

Both men revealed their humorous side. P.J's laconic wit came to the fore when The Gleaner's Editor-in-Chief Garfield Grandison said, "I thought you were going to reveal that you are looking forward to the 26th of September." P.J. smiled wryly and replied: "I propose to send the requisite presentation to the Leader of the Opposition and his wife depending on whether it is a boy or a girl." Check this little gem out from bluff and straight-at-yer Eddie.

The Gleaner's Managing Editor Jenni Campbell: Mr. Seaga, for the last two years you have led in the polls, what do you think has caused the slippage that we have observed?

Eddie: Rum, rum.

Jenni Campbell: Rum?

Eddie: If you take a poll starting Emancipation Day and you run through Festival you will get a very good poll in favour of those who gave you the rum, and even I could have predicted that. The other poll started at least on the 15th of August, so that there is still some rum in the system."

To Eddie's credit he was armed with his party's manifesto and was able to enunciate on what the JLP would do if it were to win the forthcoming general election. But what particularly struck me was that he was very emphatic in declaring why he entered politics and what he hoped to achieve from his endea vours.

"My personal contention with this society is that we in Jamaica are not one people, that we are in fact two. And I have lived that life, in fact I've lived both lives. In my earlier days when I did research work I learned about the other Jamaica, I lived it and experienced it and that brought me into politics to see how indeed, how indeed we could create one Jamaica from these two Jamaicas.

"The point at which I would like to get one Jamaica meeting is in a quality of life that is reasonable for all. At this present time, one of the greatest divides that exist in the country is the divide of inequality in quality of life with people, who have to suffer the bad roads, the lack of water supply, the unaffordable health services, the poor education system, et cetera.

"We don't know each other, we don't live together, we don't respect each other. The people who live in the middle class communities are people who respected the forms of western culture. They know little about the folk societies from which their parents came, their grandparents came, they want to distance themselves from it, they are embarrassed by it, they don't want to be part of it and to that extent they are not truly integrated.

"The people who live down town are aspiring to be middle class people but they haven't been given any space. The space that's created for them is a space that they create. They have been locked out of the economic space, which sufficiently is a 30 per cent of the population. They have been locked out of the social space and they have been locked out of the justice system, so they create their own justice system, they create their own social space and they practise their own culture, and it is their culture that has made Jamaica. It is their culture that has put Jamaica on the map, their culture that has made us renowned throughout the world; for our music, for our athletic performances, it is not the middle class, it is not the uptowners, it is not the educated people who have put Jamaica on the map."

With this perspicacious insight I saw Eddie in a totally different light, no longer was he simply the Don Dada of Tivoli but a man of deeply held convictions who is at least aware that the country cannot remain fractured but must be brought together.

It has always been my conviction that what is needed is a fundamental change in psyche, in how all elements of the country can share a common purpose and that rewards are there for the able and just and that class, locale, colour shading or background should not be parenthetic to the word Jamaican.

Stick to people you know and trust

With the Enron, Arthur Anderson, Tyco and Xerox scandals redefining the business landscape, the question remains who the hell do you trust. In today's corporate world, analysts, financial advisers, brokers have all the credibility of eighteenth century quacks and soothsayers. So when I meet someone who claims to be a "financial adviser" I'm immediately on my guard and alerted to what dodgy pitch are you going to throw my way. Some guy from BNS was telling me about hedging the other day and that word took on a whole different meaning coming from his mouth, I can tell you.

Anyway, I was in the Kingston Coffee mill a couple weeks ago, taking in a mocha latte and a quick perusal of the Business section of the New York Times when I came across a piece on the Fox talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

Bill says that when he started to make serious money in the 90's and needed money managers, he decided to "stay in the circle of people I know and whose character I trust. I worked too hard for my money. I'm not going to give it to some guy to do what he wants to do."

Citing the singer Billy Joel who came from his hometown as an example of what can happen when strangers get into your financial life he said: "As soon as he got famous, he hired guys, and they stole him blind," referring to a suit filed in 1992 by the singer against his former lawyers contending fraud, breach of contract and malpractice.

O'Reilly says that early in his career he got help with money from his father, an accountant, but when he died in the eighties he worked with advisers over at Merrill Lynch who he has turned to today.

"I have known the guys for years ­ nine in fact. I can go over and punch them in the face.

"If I'm going to make a mistake on my investments, I want to make it. I trust my guys, but I don't think they are oracles or that they have any special insights."

After finishing my latte and treating myself to a generous slice of carrot cake, I ringed the article in question with a view to sharing this pearl of wisdom with you all ­ so beware and take care. Until folks.