To the Editor: In "Presidential Character" (editorial, March 17) you say that "we may see a resurgence of the old conviction that character counts."

Trait-based frameworks, excluding the Freudian approach, were suggested by James Barber (1930-2004) in The Presidential Character (1972) who highlighted the importance of psychobiography in political personality analysis.

"Winston Churchill used to drink brandy in the morning, and lots of other different times," notes James David Barber, the author of "The Presidential Character."

In his landmark work Presidential Character, historian David James Barber discusses these questions with particular insight.

Dr. Barber's best-known book, "The Presidential Character," published in 1972, argued that a president's psychological makeup, established early in life, could predict his performance in office.

If you were trying to pitch Gail Sheehy's "Character" to a Hollywood producer, you'd say, and not be far off, that it's "Passages" meets "The Presidential Character."

"The Presidential Character" is the signature work of the political scientist James David Barber; it argues that close study of the national leader's psychological development will yield insights into the way he governs.

For James David Barber, whose 1972 book, "The Presidential Character: Predicting Performance in the White House," set the terms of debate for a while, character was temperament.

"Bush's argument seems to be 'trust me,' " said James David Barber, a political scientist at Duke University and author of "The Presidential Character."

The more one evaluates the possibilities for personality change in the White House, the more the dichotomy elaborated by James David Barber in his book, Presidential Character, appears relevant.