Fallen Stars Game!

Check it out, I just discovered a Fallen Stars video game that you can play online! It's a fun little time killer, and addictive too. Just don't let your boss see you!

What makes a president effective anyway?

In light of today's big primaries in Ohio and Texas today, I thought I'd share a book I stumbled across a few days ago called The Presidential Difference: Leadership Styles from FDR to George W. Bush. It was published back in 2004 by Princeton University's presidential scholar Fred I. Greenstein. In it, he examines the last 11 U.S. presidencies and identifies six critical factors in determining the effectiveness of a president:

• Effectiveness as a Public Communicator
• Organizational Capacity
• Political Skill
• Vision
• Cognitive Style
• Emotional Intelligence (Greenstein deems this one most critical, "In its absence, all else may turn to ashes.")

PBS.org has a good rundown of the definitions of those criteria that they published back during the 2004 elections and since I haven't actually read the book yet, that's about all I can tell you about it right now. But I love the idea that there might possibly be concrete, observable, measurable behaviors (dare I say competencies?) that could be used to assess candidate performance and help predict effectiveness - just like any other job!

Because when it comes right down to it, what is a presidential campaign but a nationwide job interview where every single citizen gets a say in who is hired for the most important job in the country?

Find me some fiction!

Anyone have any good novels you can recommend? The last few books I've read have all been non-fiction and I'm pining away for a good meaty story. So friends, what would you recommend I pick up on my next trip to the library?