Hannah Montana could pull a crowd like that. Doesn't make her presidential material.

Sheesh, I almost used the subject line "Paging Yeti! Logic spill cleanup on aisle 9!".

You do see that that an ability to draw a crowd doesn't logically preclude a person from being "presidential material', don't you?

You're trying way too hard to find some way to pee on the Obama parade, Tom, to the point where it's undercutting your self-proclaimed rationality.

I would go so far as to assert that the ability to draw crowds like that is one of many prerequisites for being President of the United States. Certainly not the only one, but I would say that a minimum of charisma is a necessary prerequisite for doing the job.

The American people won't elect a Vulcan to the Presidency. It's not fair, I know, but that's just how it is at our stage of development. After more than a half century of intense immersion in celebrity culture, the American brand demands a powerful personality as its spokesperson. In a world in which the Pope must be a rockstar, keeping keeping the American brand competitive demands nothing less than our own superstar Prez.

I may had my tongue in my cheek that last paragraph, but you know I'm right. Admit it: Personality was a factor in Bush's election, the guy NASCAR Nation wanted to have a beer with; and it's been a factor in Presidential elections for decades. This time around I think the American people have wised up, and they're not looking for a beer buddy. Rockstar's not a surprising choice this year.

That doesn't necessarily make it right, and to a limited degree I feel yer pain. I don't think much of our shallow celebrity/consumer culture. But it's what we have to work with, and I think Obama may be well qualified to lead the kind of culture we actually have.

But you're still trying way too hard to find some way to pee on the Obama parade, Tom.