Recent polling has made it clear that the top concerns of the voters are the two sides of the same coin: out of control government spending and deficits. For decades on end, the wise have warned that a reckoning day would have to come to deal with decades of fiscal mismanagement. In California, that day is here. We need a leader strong enough to tackle the problem head on – Jerry Brown has made it very clear, he is not that person.

Keep in mind that leadership is not a function of getting elected. Indeed, the vast majority of those elected are not real leaders – even among Presidents. Think about it. How many great Presidents have we had over the last 100 years? You should be counting four or less – and if you do, you realize that real leadership is rare.

Among the many qualities required of leadership, vision ranks at the top – along with a plan on how to achieve that vision. It turns out that if you want people to follow you, it is a good idea to tell them where you want to go. If you are elected, a credible means to achieve your plan – and then resolve to see it through- are beyond necessary if you want to achieve your goals and maintain the support of the electorate. In these days of an ever demanding electorate, the support a newly elected official receives is more easily kept than recovered and the only way to keep is to execute on that credible plan from day one and consistently.

Sadly, Running Man Jerry Brown simply does not have leadership qualities. He loves to run for office – but once in office, he lacks the necessary leadership skills to succeed. In the face of the exhaustive and detailed plan of Meg Whitman, outlining a series of reforms to put California back to work and correct the fiscal problems of this state – Jerry Brown lacks the most elemental prerequisites of a leader: a vision and a plan.

But don’t take my word for it – take Jerry’s. Speaking about what he would do about the States problems:

“Brown said . . . that he would ‘go to the people step by step’ to solve California’s chronic budget woes, and ultimately put the proposed solutions on the ballot for them to decide . . . “Anything you do, whether to cut or seek revenue, is going to require a vote of the people,” Brown said. “That’s really my plan – for the first time, level with the people and key up a couple of key choices on what the direction forward needs to be. I don’t think the Legislature, with their lack of credibility, has the institutional credibility to do that.”

While I agree that the Legislature that put us in this mess lacks everything and anything needed to get us out of this mess – Brown’s admission above tells you all you need to know as to why he is a failed leader.

According to the Sacramento Bee, those comments were “his most expansive comments to date on the state’s budget blues.” In other words, despite running for this office for over a year, with just four months to go, Brown can articulate no vision and he has no plan other than pushing off the responsibility of leadership on voters. In other words, Brown wants us to his job – he wants voters to lead while he occupies yet another office. In sum, Brown doesn’t even have the resolve to put together a plan let alone see it through.

Simply stated, in this day of reckoning, California needs a leader in Sacramento who will take on responsibility not shirk it. We need a leader with a vision, a plan and resolve. With his “most extensive comments” to date, Jerry Brown has proven once and for all that he is not a leader let alone the Governor we need.