Comment by Carol J on Tuesday, Apr 22 at 08:31 PM

Mr. Fineman, why does it matter when it is Hillary, but when it is Obama it does not matter. Also Obama is not old enough to have dealings 30 ro 40 years ago, but it has been recent times. Get a grip, you don't want a woman president, admit it.

Comment by TABS on Tuesday, Apr 22 at 03:31 PM

Mr Fineman is literate. He is able to make his case and therefore has credibility. On the issue of character and leadership Mr Rose and Mr Fineman stumble around in the dark trying to find some kind of defining attributes. They came up with the ability to listen? A successful leader has forethought of purpose and some rational of achieving that aim. The ability to listen is in reality a check on the lay of the political landscape from which the leader can gauge his course of action. A successful leader also gauges his own bias and tries to account or discount for that predilection in his decision making. A successful leader also must trust his instincts and be able to work trough the mechanics or rational of those perceptions. He must also be able to convey those ideas in a simple straight forward fashion to others. The United States for all the distinguished men who have served it in leadership rolls, only one stands above the rest and is truly a giant in world history. That man is Abraham Lincoln, the diversity and divisiveness of political purpose and cross purpose he had to navigate to keep the Union together was so daunting that in likelihood no other man could have accomplished that task. Lincoln was the glue that kept the United States together, to become the Super Power that it is today. The key to Lincoln was that he was a child of adversity and from that adversity a finely tempered man arose who had clarity of purpose and the steadfastness to weather the storms.