On the website Slate.msn there was a discussion on whether or not Tony Soprano was a good mob boss (the site reviewed every Soprano episode in discussion format the day after they aired). One of the guys asked Jerry Shargel (I think, represented Peter Gotti and other mob guys as a lawyer) who he thought was the ideal mob boss.

His response was Micheal Corleone. This seemed to annoy the person asking the question because he wanted a real person as an example, but then I started to think, was Micheal really a great Don?

In some ways, obviously he was, but after watching the Godfather movies over again in the last few days I think he was terribly flawed by being not nearly human enough and too cold. I would have personally said Don Vito was a better boss because, while he never established the wealth that Mike did, he seemed to be a much more loved man, while still having respect and fear. Mike seemed somewhat unwilling to listen to reason in part 2 and the end of part 1.

Anyway, this came about because Shargel said that from his experience he felt Tony Soprano was not boss material.

Any thought on Don Vito vs. Don Micheal?

Don Vito
He was more traditional and always kept a calm head. Under Micheal the family just flew aprt after Vito died.

Vito's always the sentimental favorite on these boards--"nice," "family man," "grants favors," etc. Michael is "cold," "ruthless," "killed his own brother," "lost his family," etc. Strip away the sentimentality and...
--Vito was a big fish in a relatively small pond (NYC Mafia in the Forties). Michael was a whale in the world's oceans: he was the top Mob guy in the country, was maneuvering to take over gambling in Cuba, and even in III, when he was supposedly "out," was moving to control the Vatican Bank and Int'l Immobiliare. He big off a much larger chunk than Vito.
--Michael constantly won battles but lost wars, losing his brother, his wife and his beloved daughter, died alone, attended by a dog. All because of his lust for power. But Vito lost his oldest son and saw his youngest son, on whom he placed his hopes for family legitimacy, dragged into the Mafia because of Vito's mistakes and actions.
I say neither of them was an "ideal" Don.

I would say Vito, only because he realized that your family is what's most important. Michael was the better Don as far as expanding family power and dealing with threats, but IMO he took it to the extreme by losing focus of WHY he did what he did (i.e. to make life better for his family).

As times change so do peoples personalities. During the old days of gambling and liquor DOn Vito was the perfect DOn. During the days of drugs and dirty politicians Michael is a better Don.