Leadership: a Definition. According to the idea of transformational leadership , an effective leader is a person who does the following: Creates an inspiring vision of the future. Motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision. Manages delivery of the vision.

When I was growing up we neighborhood kids played a game called Follow The Leader. Everyone who wanted to participate would place one foot forward arranging ourselves in a circle. And the choosing would begin.
 

"My mother and your mother were hanging out clothes.
My mother punched your mother right square in the nose.
What color was the blood?"

The person whose foot was selected in this preliminary elimination round would select a color.
 

"Purple. P-U-R-P-L-E spells purple and you are not IT."
 

Whose-ever foot was selected was eliminated from being the leader. The rounds went on like this choosing feet and colors until only one participant's foot was left. That person then became The Leader. Whatever that person chose to do, wherever that person chose to go it was our task to follow.

As a result we climbed trees, stole peaches from the neighbor's yard, rang doorbells and hid, sang, danced, acted silly, whatever, we followed dutifully along. You could always refuse to do anything dangerous or out of your comfort zone, but be prepared to be ridiculed and eliminated from the game. The beauty of the game is that whatever "the task" chosen by The Leader, he or she had to go first. It wasn't like, "Hey do such and such," while the leader watched. No. The Leader showed the way.

Showing the way. That's what's been missing from the three debates so far, two conducted by MSNBC and one aired last night on CNN. None of the twenty candidates have done "the vision thing," as George W. Bush called it, very well. That's what people want in a leader. Where the hell do you want to take the country and why?

Forget the policy wonkery. Having a "plan for that" doesn't inspire, doesn't enlighten us on how you are going to grab the bully that is Donald Trump by the nose and kick him in the ass. Having a "plan for that" doesn't address the noxious atmosphere of racism, xenophobia, scapegoating, "white" resentment Donald Trump exploited, not to mention his help from the Russians, to capture The Electoral College.

There are more eligible voters who don't vote that those who do. Even though this is a Democratic Primary the goal has to be to demonstrate leadership not just to the primary voter, but to the nation at large. Stop answering the vapid questions of the incompetent debate moderators. Speak truth to the nation you want to lead. That's the only way to counter Donald Trump's lies. That's the way to win. That's the way to be a leader people want to follow.