In the autopsy of this election, charisma emerges as an important ingredient. John Kerry doesn't have it. Bill Clinton has it. Barack Obama: Oh Yeah! We know it when we see it. Is it crucial? Is it enough?
Let's look at this in terms of Max Weber's typology of power. He outlines three sources of authority:
- Traditional: Exercising authority based on traditional values, social ties of family, a nation's mythology, etc.
- Rational / Legal: Authority based on democracy. Law. A person is empowered by the office, not personal power.
- Charismatic: Irrational. Inspiring. Powerful, attractive, and fascinating beyond reason. Charismatic leaders get let off the hook for their failings because we find it endearing that they're "just like us!"
Republicans spent 8 years sputtering, huffing and puffing about our nation's irrational habit of electing and re-electing Bill Clinton. Sound familiar? Now I don't suggest that W has much more than a tiny measure of charisma --he relied more on the Traditional as his primary source of authority. But what he
did do that Kerry didn't was to draw from TWO sources: Traditional AND Charismatic.
Our man Kerry: Rational / Legal to the core. Nothing wrong with that, mind you, but so was Bob Dole.
Next time, let's make sure we've got more than one of these bases covered in a candidate.