[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

I'm taking this straight out of 'The Letters', so if it discusses a bit of why and how Faramir could fall in love with Eowyn so quickly and easily, sorry. But to start, Faramir is the better leader of the two. For one thing, he reminded them of Gandalf, and Gandalf is indeed important as a leader, he is the chief enemy of Sauron.

Faramir grew up in a harsh time, under a strict father who obviously cared more for a different sibling. He had no mother (he barely remembered her) and no sisters, and to top it off, he had a 'bossy' (that's the exact term J.R.R.T. uses) brother. But still the people revered him as a man who makes correct choices and is greater than most. He was more flexible, more willing to sacrifice his own personal wants and gains for the greater good, and more apt to heed the councils of his colleagues, rather to just listen, pick through the facts, and make his own 'political' choices, like Denethor or Boromir would tend to do. Boromir would? I do not really know, I suppose after a while he would have gained more political experience, but for the most part (he hadn't moved past his 'heroic, valliant, warrior' stage), he was a man of action, and a man of great valor, and had no need for such things as policy so early in life. Faramir, however, who was used to being fairly subservient, but being just and wise of his own accord, would be a more popular (instead of elite) ruler. Indeed, Faramir through watching and keeping his own opinions quiet until he had other facts, was much better at reading people. This does not mean he would simply trust to another's opinion or plan. But he certainly read people well, even Eowyn, and he fell in love out of pity-another thing he had in larger quantities than Boromir. Faramir, as Prince of Ithilien, was chief of King Elessar's advisers, and remained in charge of home when the king and others left to purge orcs, or to maintain the still rampant easterlings. Boromir, I am certain, would have insisted on accompanying Aragorn into the battles, and for the better, as keeper of Gondor while Aragorn was away, he couldn't have hoped to keep people pleased as Faramir did. Boromir's death was rued by the people, he was a great man (my favorite character) and a fierce warrior, but from the reactions towards Faramir in the Return of the King, it can plainly be seen that the people of Minas Tirith loved him more. The blood of Numenor ran nearly true in Denethor, but not so in Boromir. It did however, run true in Faramir, and so he was the better leader, if not for his prowess for his thoughtfulness, if not for his boldness for his care.