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POLITICS & COMMUNITY

Adair: The most important attribute of a great politician is the ability to pick the right course of action, even if it is not the popular one, and then sell the citizens on it. Such a politician could lead the people instead of following them. I can't think of any current politicians who really display this, but I think Senator Fred Thompson (R-Tenn) is capable of it. "Thompson '00"

Dickj: The greatest politicians in our American history were humanitarians. A politician who caters to the special interest only strokes the needs of that interest and is lost in the smoke -- forever. They who listen to the will and needs of the people are the greatest leaders. It becomes a feeble cause when the people placed with that care forget that people are the quintessential resource of this country. Not oil, not business, not the dollar, not even national security. Citizens only ask their leaders to listen and then act. Clinton will come closer to that aim this election year while Dole turns his hearing aid constantly in the direction of the special interest.

mags: An earnest desire to better society, and the intellectual facilities to make it happen. Oops, I guess that's two.

Luka: To be a human. In other words, to be one with the American people to understand their needs and wants.

daizzy: They need to identify with the people they are leading, instead of being worried about a political hair. One such politician who displayed this quality would be Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Taxform: Honesty and trustworthiness, because they are alledgedly representing you. As far as I am concerned, there is NO politician exhibiting these characteristics.

Menolly: Politician has such a awful connotation. I prefer statesman and a good one places the concerns of the people and the nation above his own personal desires. We sure don't have anyone in Washington today that that possesses this and I believe that George Washington possessed this quality along with several others of our Founding Fathers.

geogent: Honesty and Integrity - so intertwined, bound they become a single characteristic. A politician possessing this characteristic inherently serves the nation and its people to the very best of his/her ability.

Colestock: A great politician is not afraid to say "I don't know." She/he is also a person of high personal integrity and character --not to be confused with playing around when young! She/he also spends time each day/week reading in their field of expertise and never makes uninformed decisions on behalf of the people they represent. When Clinton ran for office, I did not vote for him. But once he was in office, I was impressed that he would allow media to get so close to his personal approach to the job, interviewing in the oval office, etc. He talked about reading 1-2 books a week on philosophical and non fiction informational things that directly were pertinent to decisions he needed to make in office. I thought that was very good to practice and admired that he'd find time in his busy day to admit he might not know everything and read up on information. But it now appears his character is in question regarding the whole whitewater deal. I think people are taking a fall for him back in Arkansas.

mdkane: Unfortunately today, the most important attribute of a politician is his/her ability to "romance" the public. The key to getting in office isn't one's stance on a certain issue, or one's voting record, it is the ability to give the appearance of a certain stance on a certain issue. Our current political system allows for this. What is needed is campaign law and finance reform to make our US political system much less like a seventh grade student council (where popularity wins) and much more like the model laid down in a liberal democracy.