We want to fall in love with our candidates, idolize them, and take selfies with them.

Unfortunately, star power has little to do with governing ability.

Henry Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon, spelled out a cynical view of political candidates: “the typical political leader . . . is a man with a strong will, a high capacity to get himself elected, but no very great conception of what he is going to do when he gets into office.”(quoted by Niall Ferguson, Foreign Affairs, “The Meaning of Kissinger,” September/October 2015).

Can we judge, then, how our candidates will govern if elected? Try asking these questions:

Will they see themselves as public servants, elected to serve the people, not themselves?

Will they appoint men and women of both ability and character to serve under them?

Will they know how to persuade other nations to our policies, even nations who may not like us but whose alliances we need?

How is their character, their staying power, when the chips are down, when the unexpected happens?

Can they stand to be unpopular after the honeymoon ends and a fickle electorate falls out of love with them?