Obama

Analysed dispassionately this man impresses us, first of all, with his competence.

One weakness of his was that he could be called a scion of the establishment. (Maybe not scion exactly, but, Well---you get the idea, right?) It is reasonable. We can come to the conclusion that Obama was pretty much a creature of the intellectual elite class in America.

Obama is more of a certified member of the U.S. elite than other recent presidents --if, by elite, we mean a quality of education and not that of the business sector, like the two Bushes; nor the entertainment sector like Reagan; nor old wealth, like, again, the Bushes. One salient difference is that Obama, unlike others, never had a career in business, nor business law in any event.

Nor entertainment. He is instead a lawyer and a community activist or organizer. That is a good stepping off place for a democratic society to select its president from. Being a community activist is fairly close to being a president.

They're a bit different also --- and one test of Obama's first term is how well he makes the transition.