The policy wonks really are the right people for the job, but are extremely challenged in actually getting the job. Most of the charismatic types are exactly the wrong kind of people for the job. Frankly, they’re the wrong kind of person for high-level business executive roles where they often gravitate. The best CEOs I’ve met got the job accidentally, when they were the previous CEO’s intelligent buddy (often in a CFO or CMO role), and “inherited” the job when the previous CEO {retired early; went to jail; fled to a country without extradition; left the company high-and-dry for a bigger payday; take your pick}.
Obama has always been a policy wonk, but has just enough charisma to land the job.
