Very good points, here and in the Roslin defense post ... I’ve never seen DS9, so I can’t really compare the two situations, but I do think Roslin is very intriguing, and I am surprised by the amount of negative reaction she’s getting from some people. Although I think things might have turned out better if she and Adama had both acted differently.

This is what I love about this show ... all the characters screw up, sometimes spectacularly, but they still manage to be sympathetic.

Everything is personal to him, which makes him both likeable and frustrating.

You’re right, and this is probably the reason why I love Adama, even when he’s wrong. Roslin is an incredibly strong character and very interesting, but I don’t connect with her emotionally the way I connect with Adama, and I think this is why. Roslin did what she thought was right in asking Starbuck to go to Caprica, and Starbuck is certainly an adult and capable of making her own decisions. (And I love Tigh reminding Adama, “no one coerces Starbuck”. He may not like her, but I think he does have a certain amount of respect for her, and he sees her more objectively than Adama does.) But it still hurts to see Starbuck and Adama turned against each other.

And I think you’re right ... they both work best when they’re balanced against each other. And when something upsets that balance, things tend to go very wrong very quickly.