Sunday Roundup

"I want to talk to you very briefly," Martha Raddatz told Biden and Ryan, "about your own personal character... what could you both give to this country as a man, as a human being?" What Ryan brought to the debate as a human being was hard work, including the ability to cram all night memorizing his talking points, and healthy habits -- he was well-hydrated and in good shape -- but no depth or wisdom. Biden, on the other hand, brought loads of experience and much more depth. But, in a different way, no statesman-like mastery of himself. He was a 69-year-old hothead in control of the facts, but at the mercy of his anger. In our troubled times, we are in desperate need of real character in our leaders -- which calls not just for intelligence but for wisdom and the ability to navigate not just the corridors of power but the dangerous shoals of one's own emotions.