Stalin used to dress in white and everybody else would be dressed in brown ... Suggesting that somebody is Jesus is a long, famous tradition. Unfortunately, it also works... Oprah dressed in white, the other candidate dressed in white, sitting in couches on stage, the audience dressed in brown, gaping, clapping, the debate, and you have the vision of the future ...
Great article. Waiting for a leader is literally behavior we inherited from our common ancestor with primates. Rhesus monkeys and chimps have a strict dominance hierarchy and each waits for a leader. An inheritance that is not serving our species well.
Great point about Stalin, and yes this is nothing new as communities no doubt looked to the Strong Man to lead them for survival purposes. This tendency could very well be inherited from our primate ancestors, as it makes sense that the most dominant ones would rise to the top.
When it comes to voting I understand that most people vote based on emotion and not on qualifications at all. I think this relates to the dominant primate notion as well.