I didin"t know Andrew Jackson, but one thing is certain, Jackson was no Al Gore, norewas he a George W. Bush. No, Jackson would be described as "larger than life." He.

             impacted the office of the presidency in ways that live on today. The present day cult of.

             personality that surrounds the office can be traced back to Andrew Jackson. With the.

             likes of James Monroe and John Quincy Adams, who described Jackson as "brutish and.

             savage," the presidency had been drifting toward a kind of faceless aristocracy. Jackson.

             changed all that. Jackson had that certain intangiable quality known as "charisma," a.

             qualiity so lacking in both our present day candidates that it might explain the.

             unprecedented difficulty we experienced in declaring a clear-cut winner in the Gore/Bush.

             election.

             What is charisma? Among our modern day presidents, Kennedy, Johnson and.

             even Nixon all had it, though certainly not the same aspects of it. Charisma does not.

             necessarily equate with "charm" though this is part of it, and probably the largest part of.

             Kennedy"s charisma and the least of Nixon"s. Nor does charisma equate to leadership.

             qualities. Rather charisma relates to certain aspects of a man"s personality or character.

             that draw the attention, curiosity and admiration of the lesser or common man. Thus one.

             could argue that Nixon, though utterly devoid of charm, did have charisma, whether it.

             derived from his stubbornness, perserverence or even mistrust, it drew the attention of the.

             common observer. Difficult though it may be to define, Jackson had plenty of it, and it.

             derived from what one might consider both "good" and "bad" aspects of his personality. .

             Charisma has both an upside and a downside to its impact on the polictical arena. .

             On the downside it tends to turn the presidential election into a popularity contest. .

             Jackson certainly did this and to this day the presidential race remains largely so, in spite.