The Power of Personality

When judging Hillary and Barack, one can judge the experience-to-outcome ratio. Hillary may have traveled the world as first lady, but she still got hoodwinked by Bush on Iraq. Obama's world citizenship may trace to his formative years, but he seems to have deeper instincts for when he is being hoodwinked. In development, there are often critical periods when things need to form by a particular time. Hillary is over the hill for developing well tuned radar for subterfuge, and we have an expensive and deadly war to prove it. Any good manager knows to choose for the track record of good decisions, not the years on the resume.

I agree with Zakaria. I happen to have a similar background and I have interacted with thousands of Americans of differant cultural background and at various educational levels; I have watched political debates involving international affairs on TV; I have listened to the current President fielding questions on foreign policy. One thing baffles me: How can such a powerful country be inhabited by citizens who are so ignorant of what is happening beyond the borders of their country? In extreme cases I have met people who don't know and are not bothered by what is happening in other American States. In terms of foreign policy,Hillary knows nothing compared to what Obama knows; Obama has lived it.

Let's be fair to Obama. He has served 8 years in the Illinois State Senate prior to becoming a Illinois Senator. That is like being Governor for eight years. He has over a decade of elected experience. He started from nothing and was voted in and re-elected by his constituency because of his steady progress as a soltions oriented representative. As a Senator in Washington D.C he has served on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, In addition, he is a member of the the Foreign Relations Committee and served the Veterans Affairs Committee and In 2005 and 2006, he served on the Environment and Public Works Committee as well. Obama has always exceled beyond his years and his peers have always looked to him for leadership. At Harvard he had to be twice as good as everyone else in order to attain the status as the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.

Hillary Clinton rise is much different than Obama's. From the time she was a student she has been involved in politics. She served as first lady; and then as a Senator. She never represented Illinois but rather New York. She has gained invaluable experience in the White House and is a successful Senator. I think the fact that Obama had no WHITE HOUSE PLATFORM TO REACH TO THIS POINT IS A TESTIMONY to his Wisdom, Skill and Determination. You cannot be "inexperienced" and Have OBAMA's Credentials.

Nicky should pick up a history book. He/she might do well to remember these two guys:

1) George Washington. Experience: Lost 8 of 12 battles he fought in the American Revolutionary War. Result: Still won the one that mattered. Became "Father" of his country.

2) Abraham Lincoln. Experience: Served 2 years as a Congressman. Result: Still managed to save the Union.

Perhaps "experience" is less important than some think. Maybe personality and leadership are not learned but simply present in the right individuals. And perhaps Obama qualifies.

Too bad he doesn't have any experience to be the President. Charming - just ineffective. Maybe in another 8 years.

Did the Clintons sick their minions onto this discussion thread as well? Seems she can' win it for herself so she has to rely on her husband and others to pick fights for her.

Bravo Fareed on a thoughtful column. Barack Obama is exactly what this country (and the world) needs right now. Enough of the Clintons already. She doesn't deserve it anyway. It's time for a *real* real change

Maybe Fareed's vast personal experience informs his foreign policy judgements. But there is an enormous difference between the cosmopolitan upbringing of Fareed Zakaria and that of the presidential candidate. Obama lived overseas for just a few years when he was a very small child. That, by itself, hardly gives him the background to become president of the United States. The rest of his resume, by the way, is also woefully sufficient.

Maybe Fareed's vast personal experience informs his foreign policy judgements. But Obama lived overseas until he was 4 years old. That, by itself, hardly gives him the background to become president of the United States. The rest of his resume is also not sufficient.

To; thibaud you have made interesting comments. I think Zakaria was talking too much about his own experience. In a way he represents the 95% of the world that is apparently disenfranchised with America. He is desperate for a Candidate, as we all are, to bring unity and peace. The Bush Administration has sparked fear around the world. This is not necessarily a "bad thing". WHy? Bush softened them up for the next democratic President of the United States. The world now realizes what happens when you attack the WORLD"S ONLY SUPERPOWER.

This has to be one of the sillier Zakaria pieces I've ever read. Obama's not only not a foreigner, he doesn't even speak a single foreign language! Sheesh... I'm a Democrat, but I'll be the first to recognize that the Utah mormon in this race has more face to face experience in talking with, listening to and persuading foreigners-- in their own language-- than Obama does.

The notion that Obama has any unique insight into foreign cultures, let alone any far-reaching knowledge or experience of interstate relations, is a joke. Prior to a couple years ago, the dude spent his ENTIRE adult life in Morningside Heights, Chicago, and Springfield, Illinois.

Obama's skin contains more melanin than the average US pol, fine. BFD. He's not a foreigner, not even close. His time spent abroad was as a small child. He may well have deep memories of Indonesian food, or schoolyard games, or the particular look and feel of a madrassah, but I doubt his sojourn gave him anything in the way of insight into Southeast Asian interstate relations.

Now compare Obama's overseas experience with that of recent US presidents and presidential candidates:

John McCain: 5 years surrounded by Vietnamese captors, several more years in the middle of a southeast asian war in a former French colony, a war that also involved the US, the USSR, th PRC and Australia. McCain has probably spent another year in toto in fact-finding and other official travels to Asia, the middle east, and Europe.

Dwight Eisenhower: assistant military adviser to the Philippine government, 1935-1939. Various senior military posts in the Asian, European and African theatres, 1941-44. Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, 1944-45, Supreme Commander for NATO, 1951.

Jack Kennedy and John Kerry : combat experience over several years in the Asian or European theatres. Multiple official visits to those regions. Family ties to prominent or well-connected foreign families in Britain and Portugal. Fluency in foreign languages: Kerry was fluent in French, Kennedy spoke passable German.

Other presidents and presidential candidates who had more experience than Obama include GHW Bush (Ambassador to China, combat experience in the European theater); Bill Clinton and Bill Bradley (Rhodes scholars at Oxford); Bob Dole, George McGovern, Bob Kerrey (combat experience in Europe and Asia).

Fareed, I know Obama comes across as a brotha', but please. Don't insult your readers' intelligence.

Who an ambassador personally identifies with or relates to may have some bearing on his or her qualifications, but placing this artificial fork so high in your argument - expertise vs personal identity - makes little sense. Your sentiment is well taken: seeing our homeland as outsiders us is a percept too few foreign policy specialists have in their toolkits. Our current president is a prime example. But it's only faintly provocative (and not very constructive) to set a split so high in your argument that forces us to choose between personality identity and expertise. This duality is academic, theoretical hokum. I want both and more.

I wouldn't vote for you for president either. All those CEO's that you mentioned also have experience that prepared them for the job. I lived over seas as well. Does that make me qualified to be president? Of course not and its quite telling that you didn't actually discuss Mr. Obama's qualifications. In fact, you only seemed to talk about yourself, which strikes me as a little odd.

Forgive me if I express my incredulity. Obama's understanding of foreign affairs as a 6 year old trumps the foreign affairs experience of somebody who actually did the work? This is an unbelievable bending over backwards to deflect criticism of Obama's lack of experience. Face it. Obama is a lightweight and the most inexperienced person to seek the nomination since World War II.

Forgive me if I express my incredulity. Obama's understanding of foreign affairs as a 6 year old trumps the foreign affairs experience of somebody who actually did the work? This is an unbelievable bending over backwards to deflect criticism of Obama's lack of experience. Face it. Obama is a lightweight and the most inexperienced person to seek the nomination since World War II.

Home grown Americans regardless of their Ivy League diplomas tend to miss mundane and nuance in foreign cultures whereas those of us who have been exposed into other cultures can examine and sometimes appreciate unspoken gestures in other parts of the world.

Please take a look at Steve Clemons's blog at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/obama-vs-clinton-on-putt_b_77093.html
to see why I said what I said in my earlier comment.