At WINGS, we’re constantly monitoring how students are progressing on the factors that make up emotional intelligence. Lately, I’ve found myself measuring up a much different demographic…our country’s leaders.

The subject’s coming up more often in mainstream media, too. In analyzing the performance of vice presidential candidates in last week’s debate, for instance, Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation told George Stephanopolus that “Joe Biden was forceful, disciplined, gracious and showed he had a higher emotional IQ.”