And they're off… in the nation's largest and most festive sports event, the 125th run for the roses in Churchill Downs' famous Kentucky Derby. It's the premier event in all of thoroughbred horse racing. "And as they turn down the home stretch it's Menifee and Cat Thief and coming up on the outside…it's …it's…Charismatic. It's Charismatic, it's Charismatic, its Meni…no, no its CHARISMATIC! Charismatic, the third-longest shot at 20 to 1 ever to win the prestigious Kentucky Derby. Charismatic, an unlikely Derby horse in the first place, has just won a scintillating victory and hears his trainer refer to him as "one of the hardest-working horses he's ever trained." Charismatic!

John Kennedy had it, most political observers agree. But those same observers would declare that Kennedy's immediate successor did not have it. Paul McCartney had it! Did Lawrence Welk have it? Who cares? My mother-in-law and my Aunt Sallie love him, whether he has it or not.

Yogi? "Say Hey, Willie," "The Babe," they all had it for sure. All you need is a nickname for them. But who, other than baseball junkies, would know if I just said "Roger" that I was talking about Roger Maris, who broke all kinds of homerun records and they even put a star (okay, it was an asterisk) beside his name.

Billy Graham? Does he have it? Yes! What about that wonderful and patient preacher and New Testament Scholar down the street at the church or back at good old Alma Mater?

Obviously, I am still talking about "Charismatic," but now I am not talking about the horse. I am talking about charisma, the set of qualities that tends to transcend time. Charisma has nothing to do with talent and ability. It may well have a lot to do with "hard work," as the horse trainer claims.

Some of our most talented political, athletic and entertainment personalities endured years of near obscurity while less talented peers soared in popularity. Adlai Stevenson and Hubert Humphrey, Robin Roberts and Larry Doby, Perry Como and Efrem Zimbalist Jr., all very talented and highly admired individuals. But they just did not have the magnetic flair of Muhammad Ali, Jimmy Connors or Tom "Top Gun" Cruise. Is it possible that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin will enter the ranks of charismatic athletes?

According to a recent article in the New York Times, most people described as charismatic have "strong and colorful personalities." What is this mysterious ingredient that so profoundly influences a person's personality, style and rapport with the public?

We should begin with the basics. Charisma is a Greek word that when used to describe an individual usually means the individual possesses a "personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty." It refers to the unusual enthusiasm for a public figure who displays a magnetic charm or appeal to the general public.

To be sure, history has properly placed the spotlight on public figures who have maintained low profiles in public life. Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton has chaired many critical Congressional committees during his 30 years in Congress. He initiated comprehensive reform and restructuring of U.S. Congress, and he delicately handled diplomatic complexities in Iran. Yet few people outside of his home state of Indiana and the U. S. Congress itself know him by name.

Floyd Patterson, winner of the Gold Medal in the 1952 Olympics, the youngest fighter ever to win the heavyweight championship of the world, and then the first ever to lose it and win it back, was a model of sportsmanship and fair play in a sport better known for questionable ethics and suspicious associations than for the pure athletic person-to-person competition. Yet, his name is rarely recognized in the same way that Joe Louis or Rocky Marciano or Jersey Joe Walcott were known.

Can a person modify a personality in such a way as to become charismatic? Should a person try to so modify behavior?

The answer to both questions is probably no. That which is considered to be charismatic behavior in one setting may not be charismatic at all in another. Indeed, an effort at feigning charisma may well result in a very negative persona that may be considered affected, artificial and quite objectionable. The old saying remains true to this day - "To thine own self be true." It has been the secret of the successful person through the years. Being true to yourself, and combining that with the old-fashioned hard work, Charismatic's trainer described, may well be the secret to taking each of us to the head of the thundering herd.