Top Three

There's an old conversation topic I've always enjoyed that when it comes to relationships, in picking a mate, nobody's perfect so what are the three top qualities you just have to have in making that choice?  Is it looks?  Sense of humor?  Trustworthiness?  Mechanical ability?

You only get three.  Just three.  That's the game.

So in conversation with my nephew tonight regarding Presidential candidates, I asked the same question.  His picks:

1. Selflessness

2. Open-mindedness

3. Leadership

I went for:

1. Vision

2. Judgement

3. Leadership

He convinced me to go with leadership over honesty, as we both ended up agreeing that there are times when a President can't be 100% honest with everyone about everything, i.e. with state secrets or unpleasant but necessary diplomatic maneuvers.

We also discussed whether honesty and dishonesty are binary -- an interesting debate.  For purposes of Presidential choices we agreed that while a President can't be honest 100% of the time, they should never be dishonest, if that makes any sense.  Maybe we're talking about sins of omission rather than outright deceitfulness or perfidy.

Maybe this is the line where guys like me accepted Bill Clinton's governance over George Bush's.  Or over Sen. Clinton's campaign.

Your three?