Non-Partisan argument on Experience

[Malice]

I have been pondering the idea of experience lately...

Experience...
Now obviously some are saying Obama doesn't have enough.
Then Palin pops up, and she doesn't have enough.

Now, here is an interesting thought on this.

The President cant be a guru of everything.
The President (to me) is the central hub. A Jack of all trades, master of none.
Obviously they need to be good at speaking in today's times.

But it almost seems to me, if they get good people in their cabinet and staff, that easilly accounts for any personal deficiencies of the President.

Now to me...
I am not concerned about exp to either candidate, because they both have exp in either a Governors role, or a Senators role. They have dealt with issues, and taken advice from staffers to get more opinions formed.

Does anyone look at it like this, like I do?

Now, a person who had NO experience, may be a problem, but its really the character and drive of the person IMO....then the staff they have around them.

 

[Heretic]

I think the issue is the Obamas SEnate experience mostly includes him being away from the Senate and not actually doing anything worthwhile in his short stint. Palins only been a governor for about as long as its taking me to type this response.

 

[Franklin Richards]

The experience card has never worked on me. Education does play a big part for me. Formal or otherwise. I suppose that could be called experience but experience without education is like empty calories to me.

 

[Raiden]

I used to think that experience is a big deal, but after the train wreck that is W Bush's presidency (and one can argue that he had plenty of experience as governor of Texas), I think experience doesn't make you a competent president, but other factors are just as relevant.

Palin to me is just a hypocracy since McCain has been using the experience card against Obama, then he got a veep who has been a governor in even less time than Obama has been a senator. Yes, she was a mayor of a small town, but Obama was a state legislator too.

 

[Malice]

The experience card has never worked on me. Education does play a big part for me. Formal or otherwise. I suppose that could be called experience but experience without education is like empty calories to me.

I agree....

 

[comicgirl]

Experience is meaningless..........if backed by bad judgement and ignorance


How many "experienced" bosses have we had that can't find their a$$ with a map and flashlights?

 

[Handsome Rob]

Experience is meaningless..........if backed by bad judgement and ignorance


How many "experienced" bosses have we had that can't find their a$$ with a map and flashlights?

How many of those bosses are also educated?

Personally, I'll consider experience and education along with everything else a candidate brings to the table.

Edit: Leadership can be developed outside the classroom and can be innate to some extent. The primary factor in my voting for candidates is their stances on the issues and their personal character, not their years in previously-held offices or the diplomas that may or may not hang on their walls.

 

[Arc-Light]

I have been pondering the idea of experience lately...

Experience...
Now obviously some are saying Obama doesn't have enough.
Then Palin pops up, and she doesn't have enough.

Now, here is an interesting thought on this.

The President cant be a guru of everything.
The President (to me) is the central hub. A Jack of all trades, master of none.
Obviously they need to be good at speaking in today's times.

But it almost seems to me, if they get good people in their cabinet and staff, that easilly accounts for any personal deficiencies of the President.

Now to me...
I am not concerned about exp to either candidate, because they both have exp in either a Governors role, or a Senators role. They have dealt with issues, and taken advice from staffers to get more opinions formed.

Does anyone look at it like this, like I do?

Now, a person who had NO experience, may be a problem, but its really the character and drive of the person IMO....then the staff they have around them.

Who the hell has POTHOS experience other than a former POTHUS.....the experience argument is pathetic.

 

[rdh007]

I used to believe that bit about surrounding yourself with quality people. Then Bush got elected.

No, I actually still believe that. If the person who gets elected makes good decisions and is presented by those people with options to choose from, then we should be alright. Especially if he/she doesn't pick "yes" men, like Cheney did.

 

[Addendum]

I think the issue is the Obamas SEnate experience mostly includes him being away from the Senate

Obama's last vote in the Senate was this past July.

McCain's last vote in the Senate was this past April

 

[Superman]

Experience is meaningless..........if backed by bad judgement and ignorance...

That's exactly how I feel. Like I've said before... Experience don't mean jack without good judgement.

 

[Malice]

I used to believe that bit about surrounding yourself with quality people. Then Bush got elected.

No, I actually still believe that. If the person who gets elected makes good decisions and is presented by those people with options to choose from, then we should be alright. Especially if he/she doesn't pick "yes" men, like Cheney did.

Bush actually has some talented people around him, Connie, honestly, is extremely talented...and of course is having to follow the lead of her boss.

 

[rdh007]

Bush actually has some talented people around him, Connie, honestly, is extremely talented...and of course is having to follow the lead of her boss.

Exactly. And the results still sucked. He surrounded himself with decent people (outside of Cheney and Rumsfeld), then told them to f**k off. I'm not sold on Condoleeza, but she doesn't seem stupid.

 

[Malice]

Exactly. And the results still sucked. He surrounded himself with decent people (outside of Cheney and Rumsfeld), then told them to f**k off. I'm not sold on Condoleeza, but she doesn't seem stupid.

I honestly think Connie has personally solved a few of the issues that have occurred, partially because of Bush...

 

[hippie_hunter]

I know that the Obama maniacs are going to flip out on this, but I think the argument that they bring up about Palin being inexperienced is completely absurd. But I think that the Obama being inexperienced by the McCain camp is rather valid.

We have to take a look that the most important thing here people. We're not voting for Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. We're voting for John McCain and Barack Obama. They're the two people we should be focusing on the most. They're the ones who are running to take the #1 job.

I find it rather hypocritical as well when people complain about Palin's inexperience, yet completely accept Obama's inexperience.

But the worst part of it all is that people who bring up the inexperience argument about Palin act as if they expect McCain to croak the bucket 5 days after his term starts. That isn't going to happen. Palin is going to be building up the experience for a couple of years to take on the #1 spot if something happens to McCain, and she will inherit all of McCain's staff as well to help her. Obama's going to be right in the #1 spot right from the get-go and has to form his own staff.

And the way I see it, Palin is more accomplished as Governor of Alaska than Obama has been as a US Senator as well.

 

[hippie_hunter]

I know that the Obama maniacs are going to flip out on this, but I think the argument that they bring up about Palin being inexperienced is completely absurd. But I think that the Obama being inexperienced by the McCain camp is rather valid.

We have to take a look that the most important thing here people. We're not voting for Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. We're voting for John McCain and Barack Obama. They're the two people we should be focusing on the most. They're the ones who are running to take the #1 job.

I find it rather hypocritical as well when people complain about Palin's inexperience, yet completely accept Obama's inexperience.

But the worst part of it all is that people who bring up the inexperience argument about Palin act as if they expect McCain to croak the bucket 5 days after his term starts. That isn't going to happen. Palin is going to be building up the experience for a couple of years to take on the #1 spot if something happens to McCain, and she will inherit all of McCain's staff as well to help her. Obama's going to be right in the #1 spot right from the get-go and has to form his own staff.

And the way I see it, Palin is more accomplished as Governor of Alaska than Obama has been as a US Senator as well.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I have been pondering the idea of experience lately...

Experience...
Now obviously some are saying Obama doesn't have enough.
Then Palin pops up, and she doesn't have enough.

Now, here is an interesting thought on this.

The President cant be a guru of everything.
The President (to me) is the central hub. A Jack of all trades, master of none.
Obviously they need to be good at speaking in today's times.

But it almost seems to me, if they get good people in their cabinet and staff, that easily accounts for any personal deficiencies of the President.

Now to me...
I am not concerned about exp to either candidate, because they both have exp in either a Governors role, or a Senators role. They have dealt with issues, and taken advice from staffers to get more opinions formed.

Does anyone look at it like this, like I do?

Now, a person who had NO experience, may be a problem, but its really the character and drive of the person IMO....then the staff they have around them.

That's how I see it too. That's how I made myself believe that we would be okay with W when he was elected. "Well, at least he has knowledgeable people in the Cabinet" Oops.

Still, I think you are right that the Pres cant know everything, so he or she relies on experts to keep informed. As I understand it, in the 19th century, appointing a Cabinet was pretty much the President's sole duty.

 

[bored]

To me, experience as a relevant issue is contingent upon what you want to accomplish by winning office. I've gotten over Obama's relatively limited experience in national politics because what he is espousing is to turn Washington on its head. Ordinarily, I believe in the importance of experience to the point where I'd almost call myself meritocratic, but if one is saying they are out for sweeping change in the the attitude of an entity, lack of experience can almost be a benefit.

 

[StrainedEyes]

Experience or lack thereof does not bother me. Plenty of qualified Presidents ended up not being very good. Just because you've gotten some bills passed doesn't mean you'd make a great President, but just because you haven't doesn't mean you'll be bad.

 

[Hole Shot]

But the worst part of it all is that people who bring up the inexperience argument about Palin act as if they expect McCain to croak the bucket 5 days after his term starts.

Obama needs to stop campaigning against the Vice Presidential pick period. It's just silly, like he's about to change his campaign slogan to "Vote Obama ...because JOHN MCCAIN MIGHT DIE!"

 

[hippie_hunter]

Obama needs to stop campaigning against the Vice Presidential pick period. It's just silly, like he's about to change his campaign slogan to "Vote Obama ...because JOHN MCCAIN WILL DIE!"

Fixed