Voters are not bothered so much by the quality of a party's front bench, as they are with the leader.

Everyone knows Scomo and Albo. Everyone knows Boris and Donald but most wouldn't have a clue about the rest.

In the modern era of presidential politics, political parties find it easier to promote the key personality rather than key policies.

It means voters don't have to think that hard, just let their instincts decide who comes across as the better leader.

Bill Shorten bucked the trend.

He was such a poor talent for a rock star profile his party had to promote complex policies. Scomo won.

Presidential-style elections rely on the tendency of voters to be more interested in how a politician says something rather than what they are saying.

If a party leader is a strong personality and good communicator they're halfway there.

The marketable qualities of leadership include charisma, vision, humility, optimism, inspiration, confidence, conviction, honesty, courage, passion, decisiveness, humour and the ability to communicate.

John F Kennedy was a legendary presidential rock star. He had it all - charisma, vision, confidence, humour, conviction, decisiveness and passion.

Australian General Sir John Monash nailed it during World War I, because his troops believed their lives were just as important to him as the victory,

He opposed expendable cannon fodder and brilliantly won battles without the usual mass casualties.

Sir Winston Churchill was a poor administrator but inspired a nation to a David and Goliath victory over Hitler's Germany by the sheer force of his determination and oratory.

I once regarded ACTU secretary Sally McManus as an inconsequential union bomb-thrower, but now I can envisage her becoming a Labor prime minister.

Instead of backing Labor's attacks on the Coalition and national cabinet, she reached across the divide and worked with a conservative government.

She showed leadership. She has shown composure and humility in TV interviews and in this dark hour has rarely played politics.

Our state parliamentary leaders have inspired us by working together against the virus. No histrionics, no politics, no agendas.

Their combined leadership is a huge comfort for many scared Tasmanians. Their unity during the crisis is a morale-boosting antidote to the gloom hanging over us.

Others who fit the leadership criteria include former diplomat and Liberal Cabinet Minister Nick Evers, former Labor Premier Albert Ogilvie who governed during the Great Depression, obviously President Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth I and II, former Governor General and Defence Chief Sir Peter Cosgrove, war time Labor Prime Minister John Curtin and my political science lecturer Peter Boyce.

Peter Boyce lectured in politics at UTAS in the1970s.

He taught American politics and inspired me to become a political tragic. I looked forward to his lectures because he delivered them with passion and conviction.

Whatever the institution, whether it was the White House, Capital Hill, the crazy US electoral system or the US Supreme Court, he took me there.

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Twiggy Forrest is a mining billionaire who leads through his philanthropy and passion for Indigenous Australians.

He inspires us in ways colleague billionaire Gina Rinehart could only dream of doing, if she cared to.

Sadly the world has endured past and present rulers who you wouldn't describe as leaders. Henry VIII was more a tyrant and narcissist than a leader.

Russian and Chinese rulers Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping behave like tyrants.

I honestly cannot think of one of the criteria for leadership mentioned earlier that might apply to Donald Trump or Joe Biden.

By contrast people like Nelson Mandela, Oliver Cromwell, Mother Teresa, Tony Blair and even Anne Frank had more leadership qualities than all these rulers, pretenders and tyrants combined.

It is important to note the difference between leading and ruling.

People can worm their way up the ladder to head their parties, and sure they can rule with the weight of the law and Parliament behind them, but can they lead?

In the modern era of presidential politics the distinction is paramount.

With the major parties barely distinguishable on ideology our decision on who to vote for rests largely on our perception of the respective "leaders".

Last year Australian voters made an easy presidential judgement.

Scott Morrison had leadership. Bill Shorten had scary policies.

Anthony Albanese is no Sally McManus or Tony Blair.

It is far too early to say if he has the marketable stuff of a leader and the coronavirus has robbed him of at least a year to show that.

This is why he constantly switches between attack and support.

His task is almost impossible in these unprecedented times but he faces an election in 2022 against a "war time" incumbent.

Such is the way of leadership and presidential politics in a world pandemic.

For Scott Morrison it should be almost impossible to fail, in theory anyway.