The Temperament Factor: Who's Best Suited to the Job?

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"Well, actually, I think I have," says Riley, with a smile. And now we are listening, as citizens and as students. "Gerald Ford's fundamental decency. Jimmy Carter's discipline. Ronald Reagan's sunny optimism. George H.W. Bush's diplomatic instincts. Bill Clinton's intellectual curiosity. And George W. Bush's dogged determination."

Now all that voters must do is find the candidate who fills that prescription.

— With reporting by Laura Fitzpatrick/New York, Jay Newton-Small/with Obama, and Nathan Thornburgh/New York