DISQUS

I want leadership and judgement.
Neither Senator McCain nor Senator Obama have been in an executive leadership position, so the best area to compare them on leadership is how they have run their campaigns. Both campaigns have lasted for over 18 months, so it is a good barometer.
Senator McCain's campaign, as judged by the "right"-leaning pundits, has been poorly organized, un-focused, and tactical (non-strategic).
Senator Obama's campaign has been steady, focused, strategic, and effective.
What about judgement?
We had the opportunity to watch the candidates both make 2 executive decisions during this campaign.
The first was the choice of VP. McCain chose someone who 59% of Americans believe is unqualified to be President. This 59%, by the way, includes Republicans like Powell and Eagleberger (both former Sec's of State). Obama chose someone whom everyone, including John McCain, has agreed is qualified to be President. That choice of VP demonstrated that McCain chose to put "Election first" instead of "Country first".
The second opportunity for executive judgement was the reaction to the credit crisis. McCain's response was erratic - he suspended his campaign, and said that he would not re-start it until the situation was resolved. He re-started it 3 days later, when the bill had not even been approved yet. Obama, on the other hand, refused to succumb to knee-jerk reactions. He first called his economic advisors, including former President Clinton. He made sure that he did not start reacting until he first UNDERSTOOD THE SITUATION. And most importantly, he realized that as an executive, his job required him to multi-task (handle more than one problem at the same time).
So - when McCain complains about lack of favorable exposure, support, crowds, money, etc, it just sounds like WHINING. A good leaders understands that ultimately, success or failure comes down to his or her leadership, and not to external factors. His job is to manage the external factors into achieving his goal. There's no whining in leadership.
The campaign is the crucible test that enables the voting public to see our candidates for what they are, and what they can do. McCain is failing, and should at least preserve his dignity by not blaming it on anyone other than himself.