Reviewing a documentary on the campaign, Richard Cohen writes: “It reveals — you will be surprised to learn — that Barack Obama is pretty close to the most perfect person you will never get to know.”

He concludes:

Does any of this matter, or is it merely interesting — themes for a columnist ducking Afghanistan for yet another week? I am not sure. If Obama ends the deepest recession since the Great Depression, if he enacts health-care reform, if he succeeds in Afghanistan, then his presidency will have been remarkable, maybe even great — the triumph of intellect. The man will be his own movement.
But if he fails in all or most of that, it will be because it is not enough to be the smartest person in the room. Warmth and commitment matter, too — a driving sense of conviction, the fulsome embrace of causes and not just issues. That is not something Obama has yet shown. See the movie.

It may be all fine and good to be a genius, but he may have to be warmer to fix the world.

Phew, is that all? There’s still hope.