GASPE, QUEBEC -- It would be a contentious issue in the community where I am spending my holidays, as many of the older members of the community are still quite taken with the Republican nominee.  But I have been reading recent commentary on John McCain's temper and his history of "degrading and demeaning" people who work for him.  And it is quite disappointing.

Now all signs are that Mr McCain will not be the US President any time soon -- Ladbrokes are giving 3/1 odds -- but it's an interesting state of affairs to have a potential president who was voted the second most unpleasant boss on Capitol Hill.

Stories of his verbal abuse of staff go back decades.  I have said previously that I think there are workplaces in the western world that contravene the Geneva Convention.  And the political world is a place that still rewards bullies and attracts people with combination of vanity and insecurity that makes for a bad boss.

When I used to work in politics on Canada's Parliament Hill right out of university, I was surprised by the behaviour of some recognisable politicians.  There were tantrums and threats and extramarital affairs that beggared belief.  But it didn't make me cynical then.  I thought that political life was so rotten that only people who were 50% deluded that they could change the world and 50% filled with ego would go into politics.

Then I went into business.  And it wasn't much better. 

The problem is that people who are petulant, rude and self-centered often get ahead faster than others.  Because they demand it.

Certainly times have changed and it is less frequent now.  But it's not a good sign if it appears in the Oval Office.

/df