The Hole in Their Resumes

If you look at GW Bush's resume, he has failed everytime he has ran a business. His biggest failure: running the country. I blame Bush for listening to Cheney once too often.

I for one am not as concerned about neither having run a business. Harry Truman, now regarded as one of our better presidents, failed in his business. Business acumen would appear to be antithetical to presidential skills.

You're right. Problem is, how many presidents in modern history have ever run a business? I can think of three: Jimmy Carter, and the two Bushes.-- and they are by consensus 3 of our greatest, right?

Neither man has any experience running a business? How exactly does that differ from all of the "journalists" out there who will spend the next four months (followed by four years) criticizing them?

I hope that we have learned that the President may know about business, but it doesn't help him do a good job as President. A President has to understand that the economy if left to lawlessness and the whims of business will decay into a set of monopolies. The government is there to preserve the freeness of the market for all citizens. The business is there to make a profit pure and simple. A good business man knows how to play the system, again, to make a profit, but doesn't necessarily know how or want to preserve fairness.

A good President is somebody who is a leader, who will solve problems, who believes in a fair economy and society, and who will do the RIGHT thing when it comes time to do so.
A good President is someone who beleives in the Constitution, not because it's our constitution, but for the same reasons stated in the Declaration of Independence, before there was a United States of America.
Not that we as Americans are created equal, but that all people are created equal.

If nothing else good comes out of the last 8 years, Bush and Cheney should have tought us that much.

So what? No business experience? Hello! They're politicians. George Bush had business experience. He was the leading dry-hole oil man in the history of Texas oil. How's the economy doing under his guidence? Come on. A president must be a CEO-type leader. Period. That means someone capable of surrounding themselves and their "business" (the U.S. economy) with the best minds they can find. It's not their mind. They must only be capable of hiring the right people, inspiring them, providing direction and LISTENING to them. Then have the decision making skill to set course. It's the same thing with "military experience". Is the presidency reserved only for retired generals? No. There's State Department and the Defense Department and the Joint Chiefs and the NSA and the CIA and all the branches of the military. Do you expect a president to have all their knowledge? NO. The CEO brings in all the advisors and experts and build a consensus of action whatever it is and then communicates the decisions and actions to the American people. That's it. You're setting rediculous criteria for presidential candidates to have "experience". They are politicaians. Legislators. It's only one branch of the governent. That's like examing Obama's few years as a Seneator and ask "what bills has he authored?" Who cares? Is that the mark of a good Senator? Writing more friggin' laws through legislation. We just want a "leader". We've got all the experts we need. We need someone to organize, set direction, set priorities and motivate people into action. Obama '08.

Oh look in the new Gallup Poll; McCain and Obama are tied....in what was supposed to be a no contest year for the Dems... ha ha

Mc Cain't. Way too old. His eyes are already starting to freeze up trying to remember what he was going to say. Watch him next time.

Excuse me, but the present occupant of 1600 Penn. Ave. has a MBA from Harvard Business School.
His stewarship of the economy has not being sterling. The economy is a shambles. So, while I do agree that having run a business or having an economic background would be helpful, it may not be that important if either one hires someone who knows more about that than McCain or Obama.

"Neither Obama nor McCain has business experience."

Good. Big Business is not exactly doing a good job for the average American, and hasn't for some time.

But should either candidate feel a need to learn more about business, commerce, economics, etc. they can do what most LEADERS do - employee someone with the expertise they lack.

Or as my father would say, you either are an accountant, or you have the number of one.

Mr. Evans points out Johnson's awe at the Kennedy cabinet. Kennedy's genius was not that he was brilliant, it was that he sought out people who were, and for the most part, actually listened to what they had to say.

The true test of a LEADER is not what they know, it's who they go to for advice. (Hence our present president's disasters - he instinctively sought out the worst possible advisers, for everything, and on the few occasions he was presented with decent advice - Colin Powell, his father, even, surprise, surprise, John McCain - he ignored it).

Which candidate strikes you as the most likely to pick brilliant advisers and listen to them? Or more important, which candidate strike you as least likely?

The inability to choose wisely and listen would be much more of hole in their resumes than any business experience could ever be.

This strikes me as a reasoned assessment of the backgrounds of both the Republican and Democratic Party candidates. Where I believe Obama has the edge is that he strikes me as more open to ideas - instead of professing that he has all of the ideas already. His experience in running this presidential campaign shows that he can run an organization smoothly - although he admittedly has not had to overcome a financial squeeze.

With respect to John McCain, Is it too simple to talk about teaching an old dog new tricks?

They both have other grave shortcomings that seperate them from vast numbers of americans. Neither has been to prison or had police kick down their doors. Neither one has ever been to seminary. Neither one has confessed to significant substance abuse histories or is a victim of sexual abuse. Evary voter has some experience in their lives that they feel is seminal, to Hillary it was her gender. This article implies that it is impossible to govern without having hung out at boardrooms. Maybe so but it sounds to me like Mr. Thomas' version of gender qualification.

Guys check out these great article:

"The Country I Lie To"
Obama LIES on his first general election ad! Also, a short background check on Obama's VP adviser; Eric Holder.

http://savagepolitics.com/?p=800


"Tyrants or Children"
Kim Jong Il and his North Korean murderers endorse Barack Obama. Also, a short profile of Cindy McCain and her charity work.

http://savagepolitics.com/?p=805

Amen!

The experience needed economically is the ability to connect with those Americans who don't have lobbyists and aren't major contributors. They don't have Preidents, Congressmen and Senators beholden to them.
We need the kind of leader who actually cares enough about the people as a whole to work in the common interest of all not just the special interests of the rich, and a leader that doesn't look down on the poor as weak-minded people who need their religion and guns.
Both candidates obviously have huge weaknesses much deeper and more important than business experience.
The economy that looks to Wall Street for its indicators is much different than the economy that looks into the people's homes for indicators. Business has become synonomous with Wall Street, the business expereince that is needed ,and that has been neglected, is the business of the people.

Here are the presidents of the past century with significant business experience: Harding, Hoover, Carter, G.H.W. Bush, G.W. Bush.

Not exactly the honor roll, even in economic matters.

Oh, and Truman was in business briefly and catastrophically.

The idea that business experience is desirable in a president is a shibboleth for Republicans and morons.

Mr. Thomas should go back to writing boys' books about naval heroes.