Life lesson # 4 billion and 63......a good orator does not necessarily a good leader make (quoting Yoda)..........in 2004 I heard a young man speak on a national stage, and decided at that moment whenever he ran for president, I was voting for him. I felt that he would be the leader that our country needed.....

during the campaign, I didn't waiver, although I was uncomfortable when I heard people say, 'sure, he can give a good speech, but can he lead'......

Leading, particularly bringing together diverse and sometimes divisive groups and individuals for the purpose of a better outcome for an individual or group, is something that I feel I have some knowledge of after working for public schools for 30 yeas, in a position where I tried to do just that......

I also realized as I sat down to write this post, that one of the people I consider to be one of the better presidents that we've had (not an opinion shared by many I think), Gerald Ford, was not a good speaker, and certainly not charismatic.

It does seem to me that it can be easier to get people to buy into one's agendas if one is a good speaker, and also (unfortunately) charismatic (unfortunate when we consider some events in world history), but it isn't a prerequisite to good leadership.

I am also glad as I reflect today that I was raised in a home where, although there were clear party affiliations, it was about 'the principle of the thing' and not the party......and

that my first job, held for a long time, was for a weekly newspaper, in small town America, where political ideas were strongly held, and frequently discussed, and rarely agreed upon, and all this during the Vietnam era.

All this I'm reflecting on, this Thursday (publication day) after the mid-term election, when the headlines are screaming 'who will it be in 2012'.....and I am reminded that 4 years before the election, not 2, I had made up my mind in the previous presidential contest.....

Leading our nation will be even more difficult then, than now.......my prayer is for a leader worthy of this great nation, and a nation with eyes to see, and ears to hear, and the commitment to work together to move forward.......and for me to have the wisdom to recognize this person, whether or not they happen to be able to give a 'good speech'......