Long Live a Good Exit Strategy

What is the best exit strategy? That question connects the four Americans that controlled the international news lines in the past week: Michael Jackson, Sarah Palin, Robert McNamara and Lance Armstrong (with apologies to Silvio Berlusconi, Manuel Zelaya and Roger Federer).

In the case of Jackson and McNamara, the term exit strategy sounds rather sarcastic, of course, because their deaths can be seen as the ultimate form of such. But that is not what I am aiming for here. I am concerned about an earthly dilemma: How and at what moment do you either put an end to something, or at what point do you refuse to carry responsibility for something any longer?

Ending

Why did Robert McNamara continue to lead the Pentagon in the sixties, after he had admitted to President Lyndon Johnson that he no longer believed in a positive ending for the war in Vietnam?

Speaking of stepping down: Has Sarah Palin done herself a service by suddenly resigning as governor of Alaska?

Was it wise of Michael Jackson to let himself be contracted for a final series of pop concerts in London?

Speaking of a comeback: Is Lance Armstrong risking his reputation with his renewed presence in the cycling pack, or is he giving it extra shine and thereby paving the way for the political career to which he almost certainly aspires?

Freedom of Choice

Of the illustrious foursome, Michael Jackson probably had the least freedom of choice. Because of his exuberant lifestyle and the many lawsuits he was involved in, he was on the edge of the abyss financially. The concert series in London would have brought him the millions he needed to alleviate his worst debts. But of course, as a pop idol, he took an enormous risk because his artistic heyday was already far behind him and he mainly lived on nostalgia for his youth.

It is in that light that I also see the mass interest for his funeral this week. From Wacko Jacko he all of a sudden became “that beautiful little guy” again, as Henrico Prins called him in this newspaper. At the very least, this prompted his fans to say a belated goodbye to their own childhoods. Jackson was probably only able to stay an icon – just like some other megastars – by dying before his comeback would have resulted in the rejection predicted by many.

The tragedy of Robert McNamara, who died this week at the age of 93, is that he took the burden of Vietnam – which he already carried as a secretary longer than can be expected of one person – to his grave, figuratively speaking. McNamara led the World Bank from 1968 until 1981 and he gained considerable credit with that.

Even more important: As secretary of defense – first under President John Kennedy, then during the Johnson administration – he preeminently was the man who put an end to the illusions of a winnable nuclear war. Using the theory of mutually-assured destruction, he created the strategic framework for the nuclear power balance between the United States and the Soviet Union, a balance that has protected East and West from a disastrous military confrontation.

But all credit he earned for that ended up disappearing behind the horizon of incomprehension that was caused by his Vietnam War performance. Should he not have openly pulled the bell when he had drawn the conclusion that the military effort, which cost so many lives, hardly had a chance for sustainable success? Why did he stay at his post with true dedication, yet would not show commitment by stepping down? These are questions that haunted McNamara during the rest of his life and to which he was never able to give a conclusive answer, not even in his memoirs. It must be that he thought at the time that a sense of duty and loyalty to the president he served stood above anything else.

An excessive sense of duty – at least Sarah Palin cannot be accused of that. Once more, the former running mate of John McCain greatly surprised friend and foe, this time by announcing her resignation as governor of Alaska.

Rattling

Why is she leaving? After her rattling statement, the true reason remains a guess. Maybe it is very disappointing to rule a state under the glare of continuous spotlights.

Maybe a scandal is brewing. Maybe a more comfortable life awaits with many well-paid speeches. Maybe she thinks, as a free woman, she can prepare better for Republican presidential candidacy in 2012.

It is without a doubt that part of the Republican party still adores her. This is the group with greater appreciation for traditional American values than for a diploma from an Ivy League university; and for whom Palin, with her popular undaunted personality, is a shining example.

Yet I think that her premature resignation as governor will not be an advantage to her. Because it is exactly those voters who she appeals to, who hold endurance high. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Comeback

In that respect, Lance Armstrong is doing well with his strong comeback in the Tour de France. Yet Bill Gifford, an American journalist who has followed him for a long time already, also sees similarities to Palin. Like her, Armstrong has a tendency toward bizarre behavior (when he is not on his bike), and he reacts very grudgingly to any criticism. But if he does not despair in the coming two weeks in the Tour, he will be gladly forgiven for that. Then there will be not so much talk of an exit strategy, as of an excellent entry strategy.