According to Fred Greenstein, the author of The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style From FDR to Barack Obama, there are six qualities to each president that relate to the presidential job performance; those qualities are: public communicator, organizational capacity, political skill, vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence (Greenstein 5-6). These six qualities according to Greenstein are the most important criteria for a president to excel in to be considered a successful president. The president that will be compared and contrasted to President Barack Obama in this essay will be former President John F. Kennedy. He is a historical figure in our Nation’s Government, and is by far one of the most successful president in achieving…show more content… Public communicator is determining if a president has the ability to communicate with the public his/her goals, vision and priorities to the citizens, and media and staff; they must be skilled in giving speeches, articulate in unplanned interactions, and conveying a message. Organization capacity is the gathering and managing of staff members, and hiring of skilled members, and getting enough information to make good decisions. Political skill is the ability of a president to get what they want navigated through the checks and balances of the Government, they must have the skill to get elected, and must be efficient. Vision is the skill that a president should have to determine the future of the Nation and the correct path to get there, this must be realistic and capable of reaching. Cognitive skill is the skill of having a strong intelligence and having problem solving skills to correctly dissect underlying issues. Emotional intelligence is a skill the president should possess that makes he/she comfortable with themselves and give them the ability to interact and react in such a way to the events and people around them (Greenstein’s Six Presidential Qualities…show more content… JFK graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor in Science degree. Obama also graduated from Harvard University but with a degree in Law. Both of these men can be honored for their scholarly talent. Both of these men were presidents in terms that required much of them. JFK had to solve certain complicated issues such as the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Obama also had some major issues to deal with such as the ISIS invasion, and the Middle Eastern wars.
Emotional intelligence is a hard aspect to assess each of these presidents in. JFK was said to be compulsive, and temperamental. JFK also had many affairs that did not benefit him in this area. Obama also seems like his emotions aren’t controlled. At times he looks like he can be secure and stable, but at times of distress and frustration it doesn’t look like he can handle it well. Both of these men could put on a front that played to their advantage at times to make their audience believe that they were stable, but behind the scenes that wasn’t the