Amy Klobuchar didn't address the biggest critique of her

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show tonight. Maddow asked the senator about the several stories now getting a fair bit of play about what a problematic boss she is. To quote the Politico piece (which itself cribs from the Huffington Post and BuzzFeed):

The run-up to Klobuchar’s expected presidential campaign launch on Sunday was sidetracked by former aides, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution, who described a toxic office environment including demeaning emails, thrown office supplies and requests for staff to perform personal chores for the senator. It’s a sharp departure from the public brand that Klobuchar has built to get to this moment: a pragmatic, aw-shucks Minnesotan who gets things done and wins her state by landslide margins.

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In answer to Maddow, Klobuchar acknowledged that she's a "demanding" boss, but noted that she has several long-serving staffers and that others who left later returned to her staff.

That's all well and good, but it ignores the issue at hand.

Many of us have worked for demanding bosses. However, a demanding boss is not the same as an abusive one.

I've had demanding bosses whom I respected because they never abused their authority. Such bosses weren't always shy about rebuking me when I didn't meet their expectations, but they rebuked without yelling or throwing things.

Holding subordinates to high standards is practically a job requirement for a president. But another practically-a-job-requirement is keeping your cool under trying circumstances. Klobuchar has not denied any of the troubling incidents alleged in the press, which raises the question of whether she could hold onto talented staffers if she became president.

Klobuchar herself is in a particularly tough spot because her political brand trades on "Minnesota niceness". The allegations by former staffers strike at the heart of that branding. Niceness is supposed to extend to your subordinates as well as voters and fellow elected officials. You can be demanding and (relatively) nice at the same time.

Klobuchar has to convince people like me, people who have no other reason to dislike or to distrust her, either that she understands she has a problem, or that these allegations are false. Right now they're hanging out there in the wind, shadowing her, and she's just taking pretend swings at them. She looks evasive rather than forthright.

A crappy temper is not a disqualifying trait for a president. All things being equal I'd rather have one who doesn't have that problem, but nobody is perfect and I will happily pull the lever for Klobuchar if that's her biggest flaw — but only if she recognizes it and she pledges to get help addressing it.