Here we can gain some perspective from history. The nation's experience shows that to be effective, a president must have the knowledge, judgment, and instincts to make sound decisions about the future. While strong advisers are important, a president often receives divided opinions and ultimately must decide on his own. As columnist Thomas Friedman has pointed out, Secretary of State George Marshall urged Harry Truman not to recognize Israel in 1948, while Clark Clifford told him just the opposite. The buck stopped with Truman, and he had the wisdom to extend recognition.
Personal capacity is thus a threshold test for leadership.
But history has also shown that if brains alone were the criterion, the best presidents of recent years would have been Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Both came to grief because of flaws in their character. Capacity counts, but once a candidate passes that test, character counts more. The choice that voters must weigh now is whether Bush has the capacity and whether Gore has the character to be an effective president. After his walk on the wild side earlier in his life, Bush has clearly developed a strong personal framework that engenders trust.