What is more important, ideas or leadership ability?

This race is not over yet. Not by a long shot, no matter what the day-to-day polls say. John McCain has made a career out of comebacks in the final seconds of the political game. But still, I think it is wise to look at the implications of an Obama win.

During my ruminations, I came across this video about an interview with Obama. It is NOT the interview, just one reporter's thought ABOUT the interview. It talks about Obama's character and not his ideas - his thoughtfulness, his seriousness, and his decisiveness. And it raised a question for me. What is more important in a president - a leader in general - his (or her) ideas or their ability to lead?

Of course, to a point, this is a foolish question, because any "good" leader will lead people in the direction s/he wants to go in. But if we look deeper, it is important. Ronald Reagan lead strongly and united a world against Communism - the great threat of his time - despite the fact that his ideas were at odds with much of America. Bill Clinton lead America to a balanced budget and economic prosperity, despite ideas which might have saddled us with massive new entitlements instead. George W. Bush has changed America, but his finest moments were not around an ideological speech, but rather around his responses to 9/11 and his leading America in the days following.

This gives me hope for an Obama presidency. If he truly can lead and unite us, he may be a man who can unite and lead to great things, even if I believe his ideas are wrong. A united American can do great things, even in hard time - especially in hard times. Perhaps having the character of a leader is the most important thing. What do Mod-Bloggers think?