Oedipus was a good and noble king. He listened to the cries of his people and was sympathetic to their problems. He vowed to do everything in his power to help his people when they were suffering from the plagu. He promised his people that no matter who the killer of Laius was, he'd see to it that they were punished. He was also an intelligent leader. He stopped the Sphinx when no one else could, and he used good reasoning skills to solve the murder by piecing together all the evidence.
But Oedipus also had faults. His temper towards Tiresius got in the way of listening to what he had to say. He didn't even consider the possibility that what Tiresius was telling him might have had some truth to it. He was close-minded to the truth, and to Creon's defending arguments when he was accused of conspiring to kill Laius. Also, in the time of Oedipus, everyone knew that one couldn't cheat fate, yet Oedipus tried, and believed he had succeeded. When he found out the truth, it was more painful for him because he knew that he should have known better.
Oedipus tried to be a good leader, and he was. But in the end, his faults were as evident as his strengths.