I don't think being a genius is the foremost quality we should expect of our president. In times of peace I would rather have a president who has qualities that make him a good ambassador for our country. Ronald Reagan had that quality. He obviously wasn't a genius either but he made you feel good to be an American. He also was humble enough not to try to single handedly run the White House. Instead, he tried to choose good aides and gave them control and decision making abilities. Reagan made the big choices and relied on the advice of this associates for the others. I think Bush is trying to do the same thing.

Contrast Reagan and Bush's style with Jimmie Carter and Bill Clinton. Carter was a brilliant man but he tried to do too much himself instead of delegating authority. He didn't network very well and tended to be isolated in the White House.

Then there's Bill Clinton. He also was a very smart man and a consumate politician. But he polarized the country with his antics. I know some republicans that hated him not so much for his politics but for his personal qualities.

So what do I expect of a president? First of all, I want him to be a person that I can respect and trust. I don't care if he didn't graduate Phi Beta Kappa or wasn't a Rhodes Scholar. Being a president is like being a cheerleader for the nation. He should be able to inspire people to want to make the United States a better country and to be patriotic. Clinton just had too much baggage to pull that off.

I want the president to be well connected so that he knows experts in their fields and can select them to be his aides and cabinet members. I want him to be able to delegate some authority and decision making to those under him so that things can get done. And I want him to be confident enough in himself to allow others to make lower level decisions. Picking Dick Cheney as vice-president indicates that Bush doesn't mind sharing the spotlight.

I also want a president who is well versed in foreign affairs. Countries are increasingly becoming globally connected through the internet and through satellite TV. People in the United States and Russia can now watch the same television and communicate through the internet. With the increasing pressures on our earth through global warming and depleting resources, it is essential to have a president who can understand the issues and who can work together with other countries to help solve some of these problems.

Our country was founded and governed by the best minds available in 1776. Can you imagine George Bush or Bill Clinton writing the Declaration of Independence? Unfortunately, today the best minds do not run our country. They run our nation's businesses because that is where the money is. Jefferson was probably our most brilliant president but he probably couldn't be elected today because he hated giving speeches. He'd rather write than talk. I don't believe today's populace would elect someone based on the letters he wrote to the newspapers.

Lincoln may not have been electable either because he had a rather foreboding presense with his tall, gangly features and homely face. He also had a high pitched voice which would not sound good on TV. I think years ago those attributes were probably overlooked more so than today. I do think that issues carried the day years ago. Today appearance makes the biggest difference with television being the primary media.

To drive this point home it is my opinion that television helped make Bill Clinton president. Clinton gave a long boring speech at the 1988 Democratic convention. A week later Johnny Carson had him as a guest on the Tonight Show to make fun of the whole affair. Clinton was shrewd enough to know that playing stooge to Carson's jokes was a small price to pay in return for national exposure and recognition. More people watched the Tonight Show than the Democratic national convention. The other thing it did is that it made him seem like a real person with a sense of fun and humility that can endear one to the public. That would never come across through all of the hyperbole and bombast of the Democratic National Convention. I know it made an impression because I remember watching that show. Sure enough, Clinton became known and the rest is history. I really believe that is how an unknown from Arkansas with none of the Bush or Kenndey money became president - through a fortuitous television appearance.

George W. Bush became president the old fashion way, through family connections and money. But I don't hold that against President Bush. I think he is as qualified as most other candidates for the job. The success of his presidency may have nothing to do with his decisions or his policies but has everything to do with the economy. Again, Clinton was lucky to be in at a time when the economy was on the upswing and to Clinton's credit he was smart enough to know not to tamper with economic policy. Bush may not be so lucky because the economy is now in a gradual decline. The success of George W. Bush's presidency is based on whether or not Alan Greenspan can pull another rabbit out of his hat.

So what can we conclude about the presidency? There are thousands of people just as qualified as George W. Bush to become president. More so than ever before becoming a president involves just as much luck as it does having the right stuff.