Much has been said about the lack of foreign policy experience of candidates in this presidential election. If you are a Democrat, you point to Joe Biden’s years in the Senate and feel comforted that you have an experienced candidate on the ticket. If you are a Republican, you point to John McCain’s years in the Senate and feel comforted that you have an experienced candidate on the ticket. Is there a difference between the jobs these two men are running for? Most would suggest that the man with the nomination for President would be the one we want to have the experience.
In light of the fact that three of the four candidates on the podium in this election are United States Senators, history will demonstrate that most of the folks elected to the highest office have been governors. Bush, Clinton, Reagan and Carter were all governors with no foreign policy experience before being elected president.
If there is an anomaly in this election, it is the fact that no governor or former governor made it through the primary to be the nominee of their party.
In the course of this presidential campaign, Joe Biden acknowledged his respect for John McCain and the fact that they worked together successfully in the Senate in a bi-partisan manner. Joe Lieberman is another Senator with lots of experience in the Democratic Party. He was a Vice-Presidential candidate himself under the Democratic banner. He was an outspoken supporter of John McCain during the Republican Convention.
In the Democratic Primaries, Joe Biden indicated that Barack Obama was not qualified to be President. Hilary Clinton and Bill Clinton indicated that Barack Obama was not qualified to be President.
I think that Sarah Palin is inexperienced in the ways of Washington DC just as Bill Clinton was prior to his election. He did have a few more years experience as governor of his state than Palin does currently, but he was running for President and not Vice-President.
When you look at the people who served as Vice President in the past thirty years, George H. W Bush is the only one elected to the Presidency in his own right. If you go back to Richard Nixon who was VP under Eisenhower, elected President after Lyndon Johnson decided not to run. Johnson was a Vice-President who moved up after the assassination of John Kennedy, then elected in his own right. Jerry Ford moved up following the Nixon resignation, but failed to be re-elected. Vice-Presidents are number two’s because they are generally not Number One’s.
Sarah Palin may not be the best person for the job, but the same could be said for every other person who has served in that capacity over the years. Strangely, when it has been necessary for the VP to step up to the responsibilities of the Presidency, all have managed adequately.
Gerald Ford was a Congressman elected by a very small number of people in his Congressional District in Michigan and thought to be “not up to the job” if Nixon were to be impeached. I think history views him as doing an adequate job.
Over the years, our two major political parties have nominated candidates to be President and those individuals in turn selected their own running mates. In some cases the voters were perplexed with the choice, but they moved forward. Maybe there was second guessing, maybe there wasn’t.
If McCain had chosen Governor Tim Pawlenty or Governor Bobby Jindal, both relative newcomers to the national scene, would we be hearing the same criticisms for them that we are hearing for Governor Palin? The media seems to be hung up on the fact that Palin is a conservative woman rather than a conservative man.
I don’t remember John McCain ever saying that he thought a conservative woman running for Vice President would attract the liberal woman vote. I do remember the media folks talking about it though. Palin is more conservative than McCain.
The media folks must not hold women in very high regard if they think women would vote for another woman just because of her gender. The suggestion that Hilary Clinton supporters would change parties just to vote for a woman is crazy.
In the end, voters will select our next president. I doubt that too many will face exit pollsters and admit that they voted for Obama because of Biden on the Democratic side or that they voted for McCain because of Palin on the Republican side.
Posted on October 20, 2008 at 6:41 am in Political commentary, Snohomish County Political Commentary | RSS feed
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No Loss for Words
Are YOU Picking Your President because of His Pick?
by Steve DanaMuch has been said about the lack of foreign policy experience of candidates in this presidential election. If you are a Democrat, you point to Joe Biden’s years in the Senate and feel comforted that you have an experienced candidate on the ticket. If you are a Republican, you point to John McCain’s years in the Senate and feel comforted that you have an experienced candidate on the ticket. Is there a difference between the jobs these two men are running for? Most would suggest that the man with the nomination for President would be the one we want to have the experience.
In light of the fact that three of the four candidates on the podium in this election are United States Senators, history will demonstrate that most of the folks elected to the highest office have been governors. Bush, Clinton, Reagan and Carter were all governors with no foreign policy experience before being elected president.
If there is an anomaly in this election, it is the fact that no governor or former governor made it through the primary to be the nominee of their party.
In the course of this presidential campaign, Joe Biden acknowledged his respect for John McCain and the fact that they worked together successfully in the Senate in a bi-partisan manner. Joe Lieberman is another Senator with lots of experience in the Democratic Party. He was a Vice-Presidential candidate himself under the Democratic banner. He was an outspoken supporter of John McCain during the Republican Convention.
In the Democratic Primaries, Joe Biden indicated that Barack Obama was not qualified to be President. Hilary Clinton and Bill Clinton indicated that Barack Obama was not qualified to be President.
I think that Sarah Palin is inexperienced in the ways of Washington DC just as Bill Clinton was prior to his election. He did have a few more years experience as governor of his state than Palin does currently, but he was running for President and not Vice-President.
When you look at the people who served as Vice President in the past thirty years, George H. W Bush is the only one elected to the Presidency in his own right. If you go back to Richard Nixon who was VP under Eisenhower, elected President after Lyndon Johnson decided not to run. Johnson was a Vice-President who moved up after the assassination of John Kennedy, then elected in his own right. Jerry Ford moved up following the Nixon resignation, but failed to be re-elected. Vice-Presidents are number two’s because they are generally not Number One’s.
Sarah Palin may not be the best person for the job, but the same could be said for every other person who has served in that capacity over the years. Strangely, when it has been necessary for the VP to step up to the responsibilities of the Presidency, all have managed adequately.
Gerald Ford was a Congressman elected by a very small number of people in his Congressional District in Michigan and thought to be “not up to the job” if Nixon were to be impeached. I think history views him as doing an adequate job.
Over the years, our two major political parties have nominated candidates to be President and those individuals in turn selected their own running mates. In some cases the voters were perplexed with the choice, but they moved forward. Maybe there was second guessing, maybe there wasn’t.
If McCain had chosen Governor Tim Pawlenty or Governor Bobby Jindal, both relative newcomers to the national scene, would we be hearing the same criticisms for them that we are hearing for Governor Palin? The media seems to be hung up on the fact that Palin is a conservative woman rather than a conservative man.
I don’t remember John McCain ever saying that he thought a conservative woman running for Vice President would attract the liberal woman vote. I do remember the media folks talking about it though. Palin is more conservative than McCain.
The media folks must not hold women in very high regard if they think women would vote for another woman just because of her gender. The suggestion that Hilary Clinton supporters would change parties just to vote for a woman is crazy.
In the end, voters will select our next president. I doubt that too many will face exit pollsters and admit that they voted for Obama because of Biden on the Democratic side or that they voted for McCain because of Palin on the Republican side.
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Posted on October 20, 2008 at 6:41 am in Political commentary, Snohomish County Political Commentary | RSS feed | Reply | Trackback URL