What makes a great politician?

[AussieMick]

Sorry for not making myself clear ... I'm thinking of all politicians. And not just US presidents. Churchill. De Gaulle. Lincoln. Thatcher. Reagan. Kennedy. Julius Caesar. Merkel. Nixon. Washington. I guess even Hitler and Stalin. Some were obviously "better" and more successful than others. Obviously it depends on our own definitions of "politician" and "great" ... but I think it best not to drill too deeply into that.

Maybe an example will assist.

My candidate selection criteria for a great politician (not in priority order):

Ability to choose subordinates and trust them to make decisions.
Ability to make decisions and recognise mistakes and make new decisions.
Ability to focus on objectives and the strategy to achieve them.
Ability to inspire and maintain confidence.
Ability to conceive the impact of decisions on individual members of society.
Pragmatism: in the terms of knowing what is achievable and when.