I feel like we are living the Twilight Zone. If Rod Serling were alive today and still writing, his screenplays might look more like documentaries rather than science fiction. My feeling is that there has been a rise in mediocrity and few who question “opinion leaders” or their lack of hard facts and reasoning. My conclusion is that we are in a time of weak leaders.

Apparently, I am not alone. I was channel surfing last night and I stumbled on Tim Russerts show. He was interviewing Lee Iacocca, the former chairman of Chrysler. I caught the interview in the middle when Mr. Iacocca was talking about energy sources and alternative fuels. The subject is of great interest to me, so I listened. The interview was not limited to energy and cars. Mr. Iacocca was promoting his most recent book “Where have all the leaders gone”. The book has become an immediate best seller.

Iacocca is no longer a young man, he’s 82 now. The brash industrialist with a bold vision had been replaced by a humble and deliberate statesman. Without naming names, he quietly, but convincingly lambasted our current business and political leaders on all fronts. He gave credit where it was due, but challenged all of us to expect more and do more.

He talked of some our greatest achievements, the second world war, harnessing atomic energy, and landing a man on the moon. He believed that if we could do those things, we could solve our energy problems and develop better cars. It was absolutely inspiring.

After the interview, I started surfing again. Incredibly, C-Span was about to air a book signing speech by Lee Iacocca. He read an excerpt which is available online. It was really amazing. Hopefully, the video will be available online soon. I strongly encourage you to watch it and maybe read the book.