Being the president of anything is not the easiest task. Being President of the United States — the most powerful man in the world, per se — is a job damn-near impossible to do well.
What’s one thing that helps? A calm temperament, according to Barack Obama, who drew an interesting comparison when talking about keeping a level head as POTUS in a GQ Magazine interview with Bill Simmons.
“I had a pretty good handle,” Obama told Simmons, when asked if there was ever a moment early in his presidency where he was overwhelmed by the difficulty of the job. “One thing I learned during the campaign was that I’ve got a good temperament. I don’t get too high and I don’t get too low. I’m able to stay focused even when there’s a lot of stuff going on around me.”
Naturally, Simmons, a hoop-head, drew a comparison to San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who is notorious for showing no emotion (save for a bit of annoyance) during mandatory mid-quarter TV interviews during nationally broadcast Spurs games.
“He does (get mad at sideline reporters). So do I,” Obama said, laughing. “Yeah. Or maybe (Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron) Rodgers in the pocket, in the sense of you can’t be distracted by what’s around you, you’ve got to be looking downfield. And I think that’s a quality that I have — not getting flustered in what’s around me.
“So there was never a point, even early on — even in the first six months, where we weren’t sure whether we were going to dip into another Great Depression, we weren’t sure whether the steps we were taking on rescuing the auto industry or stabilizing the financial system were going to work — there weren’t moments where I thought, ‘Sheesh, feels like we’re in over our head.'”
Obama later likened being president to what Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan would do on the court.
“A thing that you’re reminded of, watching those old Bulls games, is Jordan had some stinker games in the playoffs,” Obama said. “But he would get that out of his mind, and then the next moment comes and he’s right there. He could have a terrible game for the first three quarters and then suddenly go crazy the fourth. Or he might miss a free throw, and then the next play is he’s stealing the ball and hitting the game-winning shot.
“Part of what I try to do — not at the level that Jordan did on the basketball court, but part of what you aspire to as president or any of these positions of leadership — is to try to figure out how to be in the moment, make the best decision you can, know that you’re going to get a bunch of them right, but a bunch of times you’re also not going to get it exactly the way you want it.”
So, for the record, that’s the mental toughness and decision-making skills of Rodgers and Jordan? No wonder Obama got re-elected.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@BR_NFL
