Letters to the Editor
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Being at home
There is something very attractive about a person at home in his or her own skin. It's a sense that the person is consistent and authentic. There are no hidden agendas, both personally and interpersonally. It's what got an imbecile like George Bush elected -- his is able to pretend that authenticity well enough to get people to trust him.
Of course, when such a person begins to screw up under the pressure of reality, the illusion falls apart but I don't see that in Obama. He is aware of himself. He has had to ask himself questions on the way to an identity. He has succeeded as a husband and as a father. He has succeeded, as well, as a lawyer, a teacher and a legislator.
He is not afraid to surround himself with competent people. Recruiting is not a locker room process of only recruiting those whose organs of generation are smaller. Obama will be able to hear competence and respond to it. That was the gift of John Kennedy -- he surrounded himself with able people. When they messed up, he jettisoned them but he was always aware of who was responsible. I think Obama has the same capacity and I don't think Hillary Clinton does.