As Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue to struggle with the Democratic primaries and John McCain seems set to be the Republican nominee, a more fundamental debate is taking place. Clinton and Obama present two very different visions of leadership to the Democratic voters. When Clinton argues that “you campaign in poetry but you govern in prose”, she is expressing her belief that the presidency is more about pushing difficult legislation through a divided Congress than transforming society. Clinton has likened the job of president to that of a “chief executive officer” who has “to be able to manage and run the bureaucracy”. Obama, on the other hand, makes the case that the presidency has little to do with running an efficient office, arguing that “it involves having a vision for where the country needs to go... and then being able to mobilise and inspire the American people to get behind that agenda for change.”

Similarly, on the Republican side, Mitt Romney, who has now suspended his campaign, pointed to his record as a business leader and governor of Massachusetts. He suggested that given the impending economic recession, America needs a president who understands the ins and outs of economic policy, taking a jibe at McCain who is said to be not very interested in economic and domestic policy issues. McCain responded that he was a leader, not a CEO, and a president can always hire policy wonks to run his agenda. Thankfully for the Republicans, McCain’s substantial lead over his rivals sorted this debate out, at least in the near term. But the debate continues in the Democratic camp, and their indecisiveness shows how difficult it is to come to any conclusion on this issue.

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