>>9
The best politicians have a huge ego and the best leaders have no ego whatsoever. Political leaders thus must be able to pick up and drop their ego at will. You only hear about the pride of some famous leaders through history because that is the message they wanted to put across, when it came to their inner circle they had put aside the fancy crap, step down to their level and talk business in a completely rational manner.
Whilst bitching and self-image is beneficial in politics, women bitch almost purely to increase their pride and have more difficulty than men in dropping it. Margaret Thatcher was different, she was the kind of woman who could make a man rock hard just by talking straight with no petty foibles, endless mindless re-iteration etc etc..