I was listening to the radio this morning and I caught the tail end of a commentary on Barack Obama. It got me thinking. I’m actually quite disappointed. He’s been in office now for 9 months – but where is his impact? I don’t get the sense of a strong man in the White House.

At least with Bush – love him or loathe him – there was a sense of a strong presence. He made decisions. (OK we’re not here debating the quality of those decisions).

Barack Obama is a bit like a shadow. He appears as someone who has been in office for only a week or two. He is a thoroughly nice man but nothing seems to happen. Is he vascillating on decision making – is he spending too much time asking for other people’s opinions, and wanting to lead by consensus?

Is this another example of the failure of leadership, where the politician has been all about the journey to become president, and not about his presence and actions when doing the job?

Hmmm – what does this say about leadership in the western world? Do we get the leaders we deserve (Alistair Mant)?