Senator and President Clinton have been pushing on the experience factor lately. President Clinton, made a hit on Senator Obamas lack of experience. Edwards doesn???t have a huge resume of experience in the federal government either. Lets be real about Senator Clinton too. She is a one term Senator who held no other elected office. what experience is she touting? her time as First Lady should not factor into this equation- it wasnt elected and doesnt give her experience other than by some sort of White House osmosis. So the question remains ??? is experience an issue?
Senator Obamas home state of Illinois is particularly good at electing inexperienced nobodies as president???perhaps youve heard of Abraham Lincoln?
Lets think about this for a minute??? does anyone really have experience being president, before actually BEING a president?
Senators Obamas and Edwards have more foreign policy experience than that of, Governors turned Presidents???and out of the last five presidents, Bush, Clinton, Reagan, and Carter were all governors.
The last senator to make the jump to the White House had only one term under his belt before winning the Democratic primary. In the general election, he was called unelectable because of one of his inherent characteristics; the country wasnt ready for such a man to be president, his detractors said. Yet in spite of this, John F. Kennedy went on to become one of the most beloved presidents in recent history.
Senators who have experience often seem out of touch with real people. The bubble of the Senate makes the world a very different place- especially when it comes to connection and speaking. Senators tend to bloviate- debate is the essence of the Senate. Senators also have a sense of entitlement that seems to come from being in our version of The House of Lords. I once heard that there are 100 people who want to be President that you can locate quickly- the members of the US Senate.
Is experience something to consider: lets take a look back at some of the past presidents:
James Buchanan: 29 years
Gerald Ford: 25 years
George H.W. Bush: 17 years
Richard Nixon: 14 years
Bill Clinton: 12 years
Ronald Reagan: 8 years
George W. Bush: 7 years
Abraham Lincoln: 2 years
George Washington: 0 years
Dwight Eisenhower: 0 years
James Buchanan, who had 29 years of service as a representative, senator, ambassador and Secretary of State, is arguably the worst president in the US history. While Abraham Lincoln with only 2 years experience in the federal government is considered a national icon and, with George Washington, one of the most venerated leaders in our nations history. Going by this list, it is difficult to say that more experience is better.
Havent we learned in the past 7 years that you really don???t need experience to become president? I dont think Bush is a disastrous president because he has little experience compared to other previous presidents??? hes just awfully stupid.
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Look at Florida. McCain was widely, and correctly, perceived to have lost last week's MSNBC debate to former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who waxed almost eloquent about his experience in dealing with economics even as McCain was admitting that he knew little about it. Voters, especially in Florida, are desperately worried about the economy, and yet they went for McCain in the end.
One reason is that Romney overreached; he was too nasty by half. But the main reason is that McCain got the last-minute but well-timed backing of two key Florida Republicans, Sen. Mel Martinez and Gov. Charlie Crist. The McCain campaign also scoured the state for other endorsers, no matter how ancient or obscure. It was old-fashioned, and it worked. Martinez is not very popular statewide, but he stands tall in the Cuban-American community; according to NBC exit polls, those voters went overwhelmingly for McCain. Gov. Crist is distrusted by many conservatives, but he is wildly popular overall in the state. By contrast, Romney had the backing of Jeb Bush's organization, but not the visible, active testimony of Jeb himself.
The Kennedys' endorsement of Obama was not only a stirring moment, full of historical resonance, it was and is an organizing and advertising tool. Within 24 hours Obama's campaign was up with an elegant, understated ad featuring Caroline Kennedy. It is and will be playing in many of those Super Tuesday states. Sen. Ted Kennedy will barnstorm as only he can. There are other Kennedys—too numerous to mention—who will do the same.
The Kennedys give Obama a calling card with the kind of voters who have formed the core of Sen. Clinton's support so far: older, working-class Democrats who closely identify with the party. The Kennedys also help Obama sell himself in the Latino community, not only because of the family history of championing minorities, but because, as Catholics, they share with Latino leaders a belief in the church's role in welfare and social uplift.
Bill Clinton has proved the power of endorsements too—for better and for worse. Exit polls show that many voters are supporting his wife in part because they want him back in the vicinity of the White House. They remember the Clinton years as economically good ones. But his divisive tactics in South Carolina (which he was baited into in some cases) drove African-Americans into Obama's camp in droves. Some cynics think that this is just what Hillary Clinton needed to win the nomination. Those analysts don't understand the Democratic Party, and they don't understand Obama's skill at escaping the political stereotypes into which others might want to lock him.
Does Rudy's endorsement of McCain mean much? In delegate terms, certainly not. Rudy raised and spent perhaps $50 million and won one delegate—some poor soul in Nevada. But Rudy is still "America's mayor," and he conducted himself with class, at least in the presidential campaign. He will help burnish McCain's profile as a terror fighter, and he will free McCain of any need to campaign in the New York metropolitan area this week.
Who's next? Arnold Schwarzenegger in California? Well, McCain has been making a play for him and, since he is a semi-Kennedy, Obama may dream of getting him. But Arnold is playing it cool. If current New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg runs as an independent, look for the Governator to endorse him. They've been spending a lot of time together.
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