Steve, given your criteria, sounds like Hillary is your (wo)man. No question the woman is tough and can be downright mean. There's also no question she is smart and I doubt she has a naive bone in her body -- Bill made sure of that with his behavior through the years. Obama would have to be out of the picture given the fact he's not shown himself to be mean, just smart.

McCain was tough enough to survive a POW camp, but I'm not convinced he has the political toughness this job requires -- he seems to have won the Republican nomination more by default or the lesser of evil choices than by showing any real strength IMO. Could be wrong on that one. To me, he's kinda a nice guy who won't finish last but probably won't finish first. He's been a political creature too long to be naive. I think he's intelligent but I do believe Hillary has him seriously beat in the brains department. Guess he does win in the most experienced department, unless you count the years Hillary served as Bill's second-in-command.

And, no, I'm not advocating HRC as the next Prez. I'm still on the fence. I like Obama's words but I doubt he would get my vote -- just not enough experience to make me comfortable and I'm not convinced I would be thrilled with his choice of advisors.

For me, the deciding factor is who will be the advisors, the Cabinet and will the President listen to the advisors yet be strong enough to say, "No, this is my decision and it stands, right or wrong." after listening to all the facts and weighing them well and honestly. I would also expect the President to be able to say, "You're right, I hadn't considered that aspect. We'll either go your way or shelve the idea for now." I don't want a bully for President. I also don't want a milquetoast.