Last week saw the unveiling of two widely anticipated products from two stubborn, egocentric men. I’m speaking of course about Apple CEO Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone and President George W. Bush’s announcement of his new New Way Forward™ in Iraq. And the similarities don’t end there.
Jobs’ iPhone combines three products: a touch screen mobile phone, an iPod, and an Internet device. Bush’s speech combined a passive-voiced apology, a 20,000-troop surge, and a veiled threat to widen the war into Iran.
The iPhone locks the user into a two-year contract with Cingular. The New Way Forward locks America into two more years of a war run by Bush, a third-rate president.
Jobs announcement of the iPhone led to an ugly spat with Cisco, which owns the iPhone trademark. Bush’s announced new plan led to an ugly spat between Barbara Boxer and Condoleezza Rice, who apparently owns no children.
Jobs will not allow the iPhone to be an open platform. On 60 Minutes Bush said he wasn’t open to alternatives to his plan.
Job’s announcement of the iPhone will not stop investigations into his backdated stock options. Bush’s speech will not stop investigations into his mismanagement of Iraq reconstruction contracts.
The iPhone will cost more than other smart phones on the market. The cost of the Iraq War will soon surpass Vietnam.
The big difference, however, is you don’t have to buy an iPhone and if you do you can always cancel Cingular’s service. If only the same could be said about the New Way Forward in Iraq and the Bush administration.
