While some have criticized Barack Obama's "coolness" as "aloofness" - I very much disagree. Obama doesn't appear to be ignoring anyone, he is simply very cerebral and logical. Personally, I would much rather have someone in the Oval Office who thinks before he opens his mouth. In foreign policy, I feel this kind of thoughtfulness is especially critical.
My late father wrote his doctoral dissertation on Crisis Management. As you would expect, he was a cool cat under pressure - much like Barack. (Oddly, he also had the same habit of thoughtfully pausing with an "ummm" or "ahhh" during speeches, and this was something he worked hard at overcoming, to no avail). It was fabulous to watch my father handle stressful situations with grace and tact, and I learned quite a bit from him about handling people who are flipping out, and dealing with situations that are dire. Having said that - I'm not nearly as successful as my father at applying what I learned to my own crises. Alas, Crisis Management is no easy task.
The cool and collected demeanor of Barack Obama is something we haven't seen in a Presidential hopeful since JFK. This kind of personality can be intensely disarming (as we saw in the JFK v. Nixon Debate of 1960), and yet isn't directly insulting. It is exactly the definition of Diplomatic. I think that this is the precise reason that McCain was somehow prevented from looking Obama in the eye during last evening's debate: Obama's calm and "in control" aura disarmed McCain. This inability to directly address Obama, look him in the eye, speak to him, was a monumental mistake on McCain's part. It made him appear closed and belligerent. Obama was so accessible (even agreeable!), and yet McCain rejected him completely. This petulance and inaccessibility is why McCain ultimately lost the debate, in my opinion. In order to be an effective leader, you must be able to draw people in, regardless of whether they are your debate opponent, the leader of an enemy country, or a crowd of 50,000 devoted followers.
Can you imagine McCain getting agitated in a critical meeting with a Asif Ali Zardari (since we are on the topic of Pakistan, apparently) and not being able to look at him? Or worse: flying off the handle (and we all know he has a history of this kind of behavior) and saying something disastrous? Or laughing that strange laugh of his? McCain could be a great adviser to the President, certainly - but being the face and mind that runs the country? No way. In fact, this problem with facing an opponent makes him potentially dangerous as a world leader, in my opinion.