谁更有资格当美国总统

    5. 掌控全局：正如大卫•葛根在《见证权力》（Eyewitness to Power）一书中所说，有时候，我们似乎以为所有总统唯一需要做的就是获得公众的支持。实际上，一位称职的总统需要解决各种问题，而赢得公众支持只是其中一点。此外还包括国会、媒体、利益集团和其他国家等。在这个瞬息万变、前途未卜的时代，没有任何一方有能力给出正确的答案，解决美国面临的全部问题。所以，不论歇斯底里的时评人抛出什么样的观点来引导选民，作为总统，最重要的是倾听各方的观点，寻求折中办法。而要实现这一点，候选人必须知道如何掌控整个政治体系。奥巴马与罗姆尼是否具备这方面的能力？

    德怀特•艾森豪威尔在美国军队中担任过高级将领，并率领盟军取得了二战的胜利，这些经历让他成为掌控大型组织体系的大师。而且，他把这种能力带到了总统职位上。当选总统后，他招募了一批精英顾问，他们各持己见，经常激烈争论，而艾森豪威尔通常会坐在一旁，听他们辩论。据学者弗雷德•格林斯坦回忆，在制定国家安全政策时，艾森豪威尔会让下属机构起草针锋相对的政策建议，结果引发了激烈的争论。通过这种做法，他树立了自己的声誉，不仅与各方保持着良好的关系，而且能够坦诚接受不同意见，最终让来自不同阵营的人们共同为美国效力。

    5. Working the system: As David Gergen notes in his book Eyewitness to Power, we sometimes act as if making a good public case is all presidents need to do. In reality, the public is just one piece of a very complex puzzle that must be solved to get things done. There's also Congress, the media, interest groups, and other countries. In this time of great volatility and uncertainty, neither party has all the right answers to our country's challenges. So, despite what hysterical pundits would lead us to believe, hearing from all sides and going with compromise is necessary -- and achieving that means knowing how to navigate the political system. Is there evidence that Obama and Romney can do that?

    From his years of holding top leadership positions in the U.S. Army and leading Allied forces to victory in World War II, Dwight Eisenhower became a master of working large organizational systems. He carried those skills into his presidency. There, he would gather exceptionally bright advisers with a wide array of viewpoints. They debated vigorously while he sat and listened. In developing national security policy, as scholar Fred Greenstein has recounted, Eisenhower had agencies draft competing policy recommendations that would then be subjected to extensive, no-holds-barred debate. In doing so, he built a reputation for reaching out to different sides, being comfortable with disagreement and ultimately getting disparate groups of people to work together.

    With all the smoke and mirrors every presidential campaign brings, it can be tough to sort out the truth. But by focusing on the five key skills outlined here, you should have a good sense of who you think the better leader is come Election Day.

    John Ryan is president and CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership. He previously served as chancellor of the State University of New York and superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md. He was a pilot during a 35-year career in the Navy, retiring as a vice-admiral.