World Leadership Update

Seems like just a few months ago that smart people were suggesting that maybe the best head of state in the world was Kenneth Rudd of Australia, maybe because he spoke Mandarin and believed in climate change.  Now he's history, beaten up on by his own friends and the other party.  About the same time, people were saying maybe the real champ was Manmohan Singh of India.  But Singh seems to have ground to a halt in his reform efforts, or maybe he just quit trying.  

Who's still standing? Maybe Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, apparently a serious guy but also the beneficiary of one of the chief requisites of success in politics and that is good luck.  Who else?

•  France's Nicolas Sarkozy.   Attention deficit disorder. Short, Cute wife, though.

• Rwanda's Paul Kagame.  Scary, but could be so much worse.

• China's Hu Jintao.  Say this for him, he's consistent.

• Iran'a Mahmoud Ahmadineja.  Say this for him, he's consistent.

•  Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu.  Say this for him, he's not consisrtent (or dare we hope?).

• Indonesia's--.  For the life of me, I can never remember who is in charge of this important but obscure nation.

• Canada's--.  For the life of me, I can never remember who is in charge of this important but obscure nation. 

•  South Africa's Jacob Zuma.  High expectations, disappointment.

• Oh, and Barack Obama.   Um.  Bet he's wishing that the November election would take place in some other country.