Okay so to say I don't see eye to eye with Thomas Friedman would be an understatement (how'd the Iraq War, or unrestrained financial sector that caused the great recession work out for you?).
None the less one point I think he was dead on about in his column today:
Rule No. 3: In the Middle East, what leaders tell you in private in English is irrelevant. All that matters is what they will defend in public in their own language.
One thing i've learned in the short time I've been involved in politics is that politico's will tend to spend time on the phone or face to face---in many ways this can make sense as the political winds can change and you don't want specific things that may get misinterpreted to cause problems getting things done; as getting things done is what politics is about.
But this lacks a paper trail. Paper trails are good when you are trying to get complex issues done and you need to hold feet to the fire so to speak. This has made me realize that I need to come up with my own list of rules--kind of a, what i've learned so far...
rule number one... paper trails are good things.
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