Brian Dubie’s no holds-barred-what-ever-it-takes campaign has drawn plenty of criticism and hand wringing. According to reports Republican office holders in Vermont have urged him privately to cool it claiming it is doing him more harm than good. Taking no heed of that advice he has several times declared he stands by his ads accuracy.
While wondering about Dubie’s character I searched back and found an AOPA magazine puff piece from early in 2010 at the start of his campaign. Naturally AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots) magazine highlighted his being a pilot. They reference that Dubie sees a direct parallel between the qualities of being a pilot and the skills needed to be a politician and assuming leadership role in government. Vermonters have heard this leadership linkage ad nauseam for eight years. What exactly are these skills he feels he needs to run for office?
From the AOPA magazine piece is one incident Dubie strangely mentions an example from pilot training of parallel lines that may exist between the qualities of a pilot and useful leadership skills. If a student pilot “busts three rides,” they are washed out.
Some might also see the parallels between his story, his campaign and his remaining reputation. It’s actually surprising he brought this story up at all, but he must be quite proud of his accomplishment.
One way to bust a ride was to get airsick. Dubie climbed into a T-37 for his first military training flight on a hot summer day. After flying the pattern for a while with his instructor, he began to feel the effects of the heat. On the last pattern, the instructor turned to him and asked him how he felt. Increasingly queasy, he set the switch to “cold mic.”
“At that moment, I blew chow,” Dubie said, telling the story in his Montpelier office. “I filled my cheek.” But he didn’t acknowledge to the instructor that he was sick.
“I swallowed hard and said, ‘I’m feeling great.’ … I didn’t bust that ride. I didn’t bust any ride,” he said. "
The AOPA article was pretty good. Dubie has had an outstanding career as a pilot, and the article really made the most of that. The “airsick” story was a reasonable way of making a point to that specific pilot audience. I’ve been in the back of a fighter struggling not to blow chow and can relate…I kinda liked the story.
I hold an FAA commercial pilot certificate and am a member of AOPA, and I was troubled that they promoted an active candidate in such glowing terms. I can’t imagine Mr. Dubie work to advance the AOPA agenda (better funding of more public use airports), but think he will instead support cuts in the critical state owned and managed GA infrastructure.
All that said, there are some similarities in the skills between piloting and project management. Dubie scores some points with me for that…you can’t be an idiot and pass all the exams and checkrides to reach the ATP level. On the other hand, pilot training develops and requires very specific logic and checklist skills, but very little creative problem solving. A pilot is trained to deal with systems that are, not systems that could be. That’s a point where a pilot or an engineer often needs help. Some pilots and engineers can acquire that “creative problem solving” skillset elsewhere, but I see no evidence that Brian Dubie has.
Peter Shumlin, on the other hand, has a strong background in leadership and business management, and he has demonstrated an ability to think creatively about the possible. He isn’t just approaching government with a procedures checklist based on existing system architecture, but is instead looking at foundational change. That’s really the skillset we need today.
To me, Dubie is looking more and more vacant in recent media appearances. One has the sense that even he is not entirely sure what he is all about.
however, nothing in Dubie’s adages or anecdotes related to flying or oft-recited claims of school board experience do anything to help him or his image & in fact are damaging as neither shows any qualification for governor.
Nearly everything he has said I consider to be incredibly lame. No wonder he was muzzled by his campaign manager for so long.
His now infamous absence for legislative duties amount to not showing up for, or being late to work 1/3 of the time. This alone disqualified him in my eyes. It is in fact, his most recent resume.
How many would hire someone w/this record?
Nothing he has said or done has changed this & to the contrary, the more I have seen & heard, the more disgusted w/his entire campaign I have become.
Also stark reminder that he is seeking to replace a governor who imho the worst in VT history when Dubie himself just as bad if not worse.
“On the other hand, pilot training develops and requires very specific logic and checklist skills, but very little creative problem solving.”
Great post, Tom. Had not thought of that angle before of the pilot with very specific skill sets and little creativity. In a way it fits Dubie. He is getting all flummoxed now that Shumlin is using creative thinking to mash Dubie’s messages. Dubie’s economic plans show absolutely no creativity at all either, just checklists of the usual GOP rhetoric that have made us an economic subsidiary of China in the last 30 years.
No, but did, according to this story, leave US Air Academy, who paid for bulk of living expenses as well as expenses for his education w/o performing agreed upon requirements. As author says he certainly did ‘*save* for his education’ w/his underhanded dealings.
Those who pull these antics should be forced to pay back all expenses & speaks volumes for ‘the personal integrity’ he claims so important. Has also proven to be devoid of this attribute. From what he has shown himself to be, would not know what it was if it bit him on a&s:
My Turn: Was Dubie acting responsibly in leaving Air Force Academy?
By N. Laura Middleton • Thursday, October 28, 2010
“…Midway through his third year (2 1/2 years of free education under his belt) he left to transfer to the University of Vermont, with the express purpose of procuring a slot in the Vermont Air Guard flying an F4 Phantom. While he has served in the Reserves, he neatly sidestepped any active duty commitment by not graduating from the academy. In an interview described by Andy Bromage of Seven Days, he quotes a Col. Jackson at the Air Force Academy as saying about his transfer, “Well, it sounds to me like you want to have your cake and eat it, too…”
more:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress…