The Thermostat Question

We want our presidents to be calm, cool and collected, especially in a crisis.

But is that what we want in a presidential candidate?

I feel safe in saying that Barack Obama is one of the more thoughtful candidates to seek the Oval Office. Sometimes you can see the gears turning as he answers questions. Sometimes he meanders too much. He was conversational and even eloquent fielding Rick Warren's questions at Saddleback, but was panned in some quarters for lacking John McCain's directness and bluntness, which also might be described as pre-programmed answers.

And therein lies the paradox: If there's one attribute that has served Obama well, it's his steely self-confidence, the way he carries himself, the aura he projects that he can handle anything on the world stage. But many voters, and we saw this in the primaries, see him as detached, aloof, somewhat disconnected from their daily concerns.

He may care deeply, but from observing him up close, I can tell you that he's not a feel-your-pain politician. He's an I've-got-a-plan-to-fix-your-problems politician.

There is increasing grumbling among Obama supporters that he needs to kick it up a couple of notches, emotionally speaking. This is not unrelated to his dip in the polls, which leaves him essentially tied with McCain in several surveys (the numbers in a moment). It's white-knuckle time for the Dems, who thought this would be an easy race for Obama, and some accusatory fingers are being pointed at his personality.

Maybe that's why Obama said in a speech yesterday, "I want someone who's mad right now that people are losing their jobs."

The Huffington Post's Tom Edsall offers this academic analysis:

"During debates Obama - the former University of Chicago professor of constitutional law -- keeps his head tilted thoughtfully, as if in a seminar. His answers weave in and out, sometimes incisively, sometimes evasively. When pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church asked Obama last Saturday if life begins at conception, Obama's 210 word response, or perhaps, non-response ran as follows:

" 'From a theological perspective or scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade . . .'

"There are legions of voters who clearly thrive on the considered intellectual approach that has characterized Obama's presidential bid, finding it his core appeal. There are potential costs, however, according to a number of political observers. Obama's cerebral style and anti-war stance can be seen as detached, condescending, or even worse 'effete' in the opinion of some -- potentially evoking the diminishing enthusiasm that undermined the Democratic campaigns of Adlai Stevenson, Hubert Humphrey, McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis, Bradley, Gore, and Kerry.

"The McCain campaign, has aggressively capitalized on this perceived vulnerability in Obama's performance, portraying him as disengaged from the high-pressure concerns central to the working and middle class."