Leadership. Politics vs. Statesmanship

I've been thinking about becoming a politician.
No, let me rephrase. I've been thinking about becoming a statesman. 'Politician' has so many negative connotations. A politician is likeable, very personable. He waves to the crowd, smiles that wide, fake smile, gestures to his family, makes innocuous comments about how he couldn't have done it without them and all of the people who voted for him. He promises something to everyone, so many promises, promises he won't be able to keep track of and therefore, to keep. When he actually starts the business of making and passing laws (the business of leadership), people demand favors of him, and he gives in, thinking this is all part of leading a community. He tries to please everybody. He may even be innocent, until his glaring defect burns him in the backside.
Both Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan were likeable, personable. The primary thing that flawed Clinton and set Reagan apart from him, aside from values, was the characteristic of leadership. The unbending kind of leadership. The kind that was common to all great men, men like Winston Churchill, or Teddy Roosevelt, or George Washington. Can anyone picture most of the people in Congress facing down a Stalin or Hitler, or leading a charge across a dessicated battlefield, or even defeating asthma or polio?
Few of our elected officials today are really leaders. They don't capture the hearts and minds of the people like a leader should. They're personable. If they have any kind of backbone, they use it to their own ends, for selflessness is another quality of leadership.
Back when this country was first formed, Senators wore guns in assembly. They even challenged each other to duels, when differences could not be resolved (fortunately not conducted in the building). When they backed down, they did it because they had at last seen reason. Politicians back down now when they're offered bribes, pet projects earmarking already large, bloated bills. They butt heads only when the voters get their attention overwhelmingly, as the sleeping majority awakens.
Not that duels should be brought back, the old days were anything but perfect! I'm saying that the American people should vote in people with spines, not people with charming personalities. Many early Presidents were anything but charming. But they could lead.
Personality did not stop the blitzes across France. Vote in people who have some kind of respect for themselves and for the ones they represent, so they stick to whatever values they hold, even if they're wrong. Not the silly flopping around that has been happening in recent years.
But of course, leaders shouldn't be too bull-headed, either. They should be knowledgeable, and not just about the law, but about how to apply the law correctly. They should know how to tell the difference between right and almost-right, i.e. wisdom. They should study moral philosophy as much as, if not more than, law, so they know the right decisions to make. Politicians lack wisdom as well.

A leader should be like bamboo. Standing straight and tall until convinced to change its course. Knowing when to stand, and when to give way. When to snap back in the face of the people who dared try to force it the wrong way.

So, I'm thinking about becoming a statesman. I'm terrified of public speaking. I'm very black and white, and hard to convince. I'm stubborn. My ultimate goal is to find truth and act on it (my reason for starting this blog as well). I hate politics as it is now, but I see a need for people who will stand for what they think is right, and know enough to know that they are right, in every corner of the government.
Maybe I'll tote a six-shooter around, too, and challenge people to duels.