Pollsters often ask voters which presidential candidate they would most like to attend a barbeque with, which candidate they would entrust to watch their children, or with whom they would like to have a Coke.
 
Let me assure you that neither John Kerry nor George Bush is going to "hang out" with you, watch your kids or visit your home. But you—as a 1/3,000 millionth "owner" of this country—will, on November 2nd, "hire" one of these men.
 
So, for our purposes here, let's change the word "country" to "company", and let's think of the presidential campaign as a job search.
 
You are down to two finalists in the search to hire the president of your "company".
 
One of the finalists for the job has a rather sketchy résumé. He was a lackluster student, has a questionable military service record, and it’s possible that he was AWOL during his service. He’s an admitted alcoholic, arrested once for drunken driving and once for disorderly conduct at a football game. He ran a small business and it failed, and the baseball team he partially owned was one of the worst-performing teams. Currently he is a Chief Executive, but 90% of the world's "companies" despise him and feel he is incompetent. Fifty percent of his own "company" thinks he is a disaster. He is self-righteous, arrogant, inarticulate, and ignorant on most issues that directly affect your "company." But he is very personal, strong, and "folksy", and never changes his mind or admits to making a mistake.
 
The other candidate was an outstanding student, served in the military, was promoted to Lieutenant, wounded in battle and decorated. He came back from a war and testified before Congress in a speech some compare in eloquence to the likes of Martin Luther King or Abraham Lincoln. He tried to bring an end to an unpopular and unjust war. He too was arrested, but not for drunk driving or rowdiness: rather for peaceful civil disobedience, protesting a war he deplored. He went to law school, became a prosecutor, Lt. Governor and Senator for 20 years. However, he is long-winded, aloof, a loner, and too often "plays Hamlet" (”to be or not to be").  
 
So much for their résumés.
 
You like both candidates for the job of president of your "company." A deadline is approaching, and you need to make a decision in the next few weeks.
 
You decide to bring them both in for a final job interview.
 
You put them in a room together and ask them both a series of questions, gauge side by side their demeanor, intelligence, judgment and fitness to run your “company”.
 
Again, you're not going to "hang out" with either one or have him babysit your kids. You are hiring one of these candidates to run your "company."
 
After 90 minutes of interviewing and observing the candidates, they leave, and you are left to decide which one of the two you will hire.
 
Based on their résumé, personalities and the ”job interview" (this past Thursday), which one would you choose?
 

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