Which Democrat has the leadership qualities we need?
DAN MEYER Political Columnist
Hillary or Barack? Clinton or Obama? A woman as our nation's chief executive, or an African-American as the holder of the highest office in our land?

It seems no matter where you go these days, registered Democrats are wrestling with the question of whether it is Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama who is best suited to be their party's choice to run in this November's general election in an attempt to take back the White House.

This election, considered by many political pundits to be the most important in decades, will likely serve as a sounding board for an electorate that desperately craves strong leadership.

Many voters are very angry at the current administration, and as a result, are extremely anxious to hire a true agent of change. Just like the mindset of many voters in Erie County this past November who almost fell over their own two feet as they ran to the polls for the county executive election, literally shouting "anyone but Joel Giambra," many people across the country are disappointed, disgusted and downright depressed about our current state of affairs and want to give George W. Bush the boot as quickly as possible.

But before anyone tramples innocent bystanders on the way to the ballot box, it has become perfectly clear that Democrats who believe the concept that "we have to clean up the mess that this Republican president left us" still have a major decision to make when it comes to who they should support in what, at this point, looks like a run for office against the GOP's John McCain.

The theory that Bush and the rest of his cabinet loused things up so badly for the GOP that any Democrat could cruise to victory later this year is just not realistic.

What is crystal clear, however, is that there are still some Democrats out there who remain worried about the possibility that both Clinton and Obama don't have "the right stuff" to take the White House when we all step behind the curtain in approximately nine months.

Many analysts view Clinton as being a very cautious and almost programmed presidential candidate, someone able to say whatever voters want to hear at any particular moment.

Spontaneous? Nope. A thinking-outside of-the-box reformer? No way. Someone who presents her opinion on a particular issue while at one of those infamous "coffee and conversation with the common folk" photo opportunities? Hardly. No matter how much her campaign consultants try and mold her image into something it is not, most can still see through the glitz and glamour that accompanies Clinton's campaign literature and correctly identify her for what she truly is: a grizzled political veteran who uses large piles of polling data to gauge whether she's for or against something (see the driver's licenses for illegal immigrants issue for a perfect example of how she forms her public answers to questions voters want answered.)

Then there's Obama, the man with the light-up-the-room smile and shining personality. Oprah Winfrey loves him. Most of the Kennedy family now love him. But still, you have to ask yourself, is there enough of "it" there to make the decision to make him our commander-in-chief? The ink on Obama's new business cards as a senator had barely dried before he hit the road to announce his plans to run for president. While I admire that drive, passion and focus, I still wonder if he has enough under his belt when it comes to those unique day-to-day experiences as an elected official to be the holder of the highest office in the land.

What's the biggest problem Democrats have when it comes to making that final decision about who is going to be their candidate? Leadership, or should I say, a lack thereof. There has been very little action by either candidate during these past few months of fast and furious fundraising, debating and politicking that presents hope for the Dems putting up on a pedestal a candidate who knows where he or she wants to take the country and how that person plans to do so.

Simply using the approach of "Bush-bashing" is not enough. Democrats need to see one of these candidates dig down deep and find the courage to offer up a plan that has a clear and honest vision of our nation's future, especially when it comes to the war in Iraq and ongoing economic insecurity when related to the housing crisis and our ever-growing national debt.

Leadership. We need it. Who has it?