My fellow Chicagoan and comedian, Ian Coburn, once said something like, "I know that God is a woman. How? It's obvious. If God were a man, He would have created a humanity composed of entirely women, except for one other man. Then He would invite his one male creation to the top of the highest mountain, invite him to look down on all the feminine splendor, and promptly kill him."
Now, just days after the most massive public celebration seen in Chicago's Grant Park in decades, I notice that I have an unexpected, unexplainable, and likely unwarranted uneasiness - with a sudden, strange twinge of jealousy toward its object of worship - President-elect, Barack Obama.
Why? Why these feelings toward the man for whom - just last week - I gleefully cast my early vote?
Simple.
It's because he's um, er, uh... well, just that PERFECT. Wise, mature, cool, charming, handsome, famous, and grrrrr, even more fit than a man a decade his junior. This even-tempered Manly Man makes we lesser men just plain look bad.
He's the type to make women swoon more than JFK did before I was born, and the type to draw men today to his leadership because they wish they had a chance to BE him, or even vaguely LIKE him.
To both genders, he just might be the latest exemplar of the Cool, Steady, Manly Man.
No wonder he won the election. He's just that GOOD, and I know GOOD when I see and hear it.
Yet, could there be more than just "charisma" to Obama's rise to power?
Something about the Obama Phenomenon that is actually based in science?
What if the workings of temperament, character maturity, and gender instinct - masculinity in his case - could explain this mystery, this meteoric rise, be teased apart, codified, and even taught and learned?
Then women might just have their curiosity about the appeal of this truly "transformational figure" sated, and the lesser men just might have a fighting chance at recovering a healthy pride again.
Men could go from merely admiring him (or otherwise avoiding his rabid fans), to simply learning from the example of what he's done right so far in public life.
It doesn't matter what political affiliation you hold. What makes a man a leader is a unique combination of the right temperament to match the demands of the street, a high maturity of character that helps him and all those who know him prosper, and the raw masculinity to compete as a gentleman, fight only when forced to - but effectively when it has to be that way - and to inspire others with the mission he offers to share.
Now, some leaders are all cowboy machismo, and don't imbue their mindset with even a shred of feminine sensibility. Not Obama. The consensus thinker is quite capable of tapping into the feminine psyche of the nation too - a source of civility, diplomacy, partnership home and abroad, and custodianship of resources both human and natural.
Obama seems to "get it" on all these levels, and males, females, young and old have responded - perhaps to his party on one level, but at a more profound level - to the PERSON.
It's the public sensing a temperament that matches the challenges, a maturity of character, and a facility with the instincts of one's own gender. In a Chief Executive, these will cut across and heal the often hateful divides that have plagued the political landscape of the past decade.
The good news is that these three features of "personhood" are not governed by random luck, the fickleness or celebrity, or even the crucible of national crises. The traits of leadership are either present in all of us - just waiting to be brought out - or can be learned through the art of the therapist, the clergy, the mentor, and most important of all - the parent.
Our President-elect does not hold a monopoly on the personal traits of mature, constructive, inclusive leadership. Man or woman, young or old, you can discover them in yourself, be an exemplar to your colleagues, friends, family, children and all those you are responsible for or to.
That is true hope, empowered, personal hope - not dependent on the luck, approval or effort of anyone but you.
*The specifics of Obama's personality and temperament, maturity of character and masculinity - and what they might predict for the upcoming presidency (and future of our nation) - are in Part II.*
