Does anyone ever read Jerry Flint? He’s an old-fashioned “car guy” who has been writing about the auto industry for nearly 50 years now, and he once wrote a column for Forbes about Detroit’s lack of leadership. And he said there are some guys you just know are solid, hard-core leaders. His example was Bob Lutz, who now is a vice chairman at GM.

Lutz is an example of a man you wouldn’t think to question if you were all sitting in a foxhole, and he jumped out and yelled “FOLLOW ME!” You and everyone else would just jump out and go.

And you’d know that about him from the first time you met him. Another guy I can think of like that is Jamie Dimon, who now runs JP Morgan Chase.

Can anyone imagine ever taking an order from Barack Obama? For that matter, can anyone even imagine Barack Obama giving a clear, confident order?

He’s the kind of guy who belongs in a classroom. He’s good at asking questions, which is an awfully valuable skill in teachers, pastors, and mentors. It’s also a skill that’s highly valued by people whose most memorable and proximate experiences have been in classrooms rather than in real life.

And now, with the Biden pick, Obama has failed to rise above his own limitations. Obama has picked another guy just like himself, a guy who gives the impression that what he wants most is for you to know how smart he is.

People can sense when a man has the confidence and the temperament for leadership. In times of stress, that’s who they will choose to follow.

And it’s not a matter of thinking it through, either. When the chips are down, real leadership is obvious.

-Francis Cianfrocca