Fascinating point on the art of leadership and some of the factors that go into it. Your final point that perhaps the candidates should try for some degree of authenticity is an excellent one. It's a pity that political dialogue has become so stilted out of fear of polls. The candidates seem to think that they must try to please every single voter, despite the fact that it is impossible for them to please every single voter. Perhaps that's why I don't mind so much when one of them gets angry. Not only are the occasional outbursts entertaining, but they have the ring of authenticity.

Thompson really seemed to expect just to step straight into Reagan's boots. His candidacy still strikes me as one of the strangest things about this campaign. He seemed bored and fed up the entire time, or maybe just in some sort of Zen state.