Ever since, well, since Obama spoke at the DNC and people started saying he’d be president someday, I’ve also heard “He’s not experienced enough”. But I haven’t heard anyone explain exactly what experience he’s lacking, particularly when compared with previous presidents.
As I understand it, Barack Obama spent a decade teaching constitutional law, so I’d think he knows his American governmental system on paper. He spent eight years in the Illinois State Senate and a couple years now in the US Senate so he has legislative experience. He’s been on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee so he has at least dipped his fingers in the international relations pool.
I guess I’m just wondering what qualifications did Bush/Bush Sr, Clinton, Reagan, etc bring which are essential for “having the experience” to be president? A governorship? Is it the experience with working a state budget? Experience with working with a legislature? If so, would it matter how many Senate terms Obama served? No one is hassling McCain about his lack of executive experience as a governor, mayor, etc.
I don’t have a horse in this race yet. The election is forever away and any number of people may join, drop out, etc. I’m just asking about the basis for the “Not enough experience” criticism for Obama.
Obama is only a freshman senator and will still be a freshman senator in 2008.
No sitting senator has been elected president since JFK. That doesn’t mean senators are unfit for the job, just that a perception to that effect seems to have taken hold.
But that’s the same as just saying “He’s inexperienced”. It doesn’t actually answer the question of what he’s expected to take from his second, third, etc term as Senator.
As noted, JFK was the last senator elected–and he was not a freshman.
Every president, since, has been either a governor or a vice-president. The belief is that the executive office is sufficiently different (nowadays) that some actual contact with that level of power and authority is required before a person should be entrusted with complete control of the military and the decisions to choose and oversee all the executive obligations vested in the cabinet positions.
The perception may be wrong, but that is the basis for the claim that he lacks experience.
(And while he has experience in the Illinois legislature, he is not perceived to have (sufficient) experience in the “big leagues” of dealing with Congress. This was a major factor in criticism of Carter; despite the fact that he had executive experience as governor, he had never developed the skills necessary to get legislation passed through Congress (even by his own party). How much influence would a freshman senator wield?
Again, the perception could be in error. Younger men have ruled major empires. However, that is the perception that exists.)
It’ll be interesting, if Obama’s campaign takes off, just how the experience factor will come into play. I know some political conservatives who have, to me, suspect racist tendencies. They have all mentioned Obama’s “lack of experience.” When I point out that GWBush was only a governor, and the governorship of Texas is not a particularly powerful position, they tend to fall back on “Times are different now.” I remember many people criticizing Clinton for his lack of experience and the world situation being one where we couldn’t afford that lack of experience at the time.
It’s clear to me, a Democrat, that Obama is at least as qualified as GWBush and Bill Clinton were when they ran for the office.
I guess it depends on what you value as experience. I voted for GHWBush because I thought he was tremendously qualified for the position: Ran his own business (yes, he probably had help from FOP (Friends of Prescott, his dad), but he did run a successful business for several years), service in the House of Representatives, service as the leader of a major governmental department (CIA), service abroad as ambassador to China, and 8 years as VP. If I had to define the proper experience for the job, it would probably look a lot like GHWBush’s resume.
Having said that, most Clinton and GWBush supporters would agree that their preferred president was not handicapped by any lack of experience, and that the positive qualities they brought to the office aren’t ones dependent on “experience.”
I just have a feeling that “lack of experience” is going to be a big deal when talking about Obama. It’s a safe excuse not to vote for a black man.
I don’t intend to reply after every response so I’ll state this and let the thread live or die organically for a bit…
…but, that said, I’d point out that none of the four front-runners have gubernatorial or vice-presidental experience. Arguably, the closest is Ms. Clinton’s stint as First Lady (as an observer, anyway), followed by Giuliani’s mayoral experience (which is at least some level of executive experience). Isn’t McCain’s political experience entirely within the Senate?
I feel like I’m arguing for Obama now, which isn’t my intent, so I’ll let it go from here.
Typically, baggage in the form of a voting record. This is rarely good for the candidate’s campaign but it’s awful useful for his opposition to build up a case against him, which is why so many of them complain about his inexperience.
Traditionally, the Presidency is a reward for accomplishment in business, the military or some other branch of government. Obama’s sole accomplishment was giving a stirring speech at the last Democratic convention. That’s more than I’ve ever done, but it’s not quite to the level of Presidency.
Well I do have a horse in this race, Clinton, and I have high hopes for Obama’s future.
Given he is presidential material, I don’t see the need to make him president immediately. He has a lot of years ahead of him where we have an opportunity to measure him. To see his presidential aspiration thwarted at an early age because he’s already completed two terms doesn’t work for me either. Besides, I like to take the measure of a man at full stride in adversity, and I haven’t seen that situation yet though its sure to come.
I think I know Hillary. She’s the real McCoy and I’ve seen her under adversity and she passes with high marks. You may take exception to this point, but I do believe the previous successful Clinton administration reflects on her as well. Presidential selection is often a crapshoot, but I know I can live with at least four more years of a Clinton administration. We have plenty of time to see the real Obama to emerge.
Kennedy was cute and wasn’t Nixon. A few undistinctive years in the Senate was all the experience he brought to the game.
Johnson got lucky the same moment Kennedy got REAL unlucky. He had the time in the party to be nominated but I don’t think he could’ve been elected on his own with the skeletons rattling around in his closet and his basic unappealingness.
Nixon had spent his time in the Republican trenches and had been VP, though he was also unappealing. Score one for you.
Ford got lucky much the same way as Johnson and was as unelectable, but in his case because of his blandness.
Carter wasn’t Nixon or Teddy Kennedy. Some time as governor of a third-tier state (not so much these days but back in 1976) but otherwise nada.
Reagan had been a governor for a couple terms but was mostly famous for other things. Plus he still had some of that residual cute factor that gave him an otherwise undeserved movie career.
Bush put in trench time. Point two.
Clinton was governor of a third-tier state but otherwise a big nobody.
Bush was governor of a first-tier state with a valuable name but without it he probably would’ve lost the nomination.
I can accept the word in the sense that he would probably not be running this time if so many people weren’t begging him to. Sometimes you have to grab the opportunity when it knocks.
I have to agree with those who say Obama lacks experience. His career seems to have been based on himbeing a charismatic person with presidential ambitions. Offhand, I can’t think of any political decisions he’s known for.
Clinton (both of them), Bush (both of them), McCain, Guiliani, Dodd, Biden, Richardson, Vilsack - they all have political records that they can be judged by. But Obama seems like a blank slate.
And, unfortunately, people write on blank slates what they hope to read. That said, I gotta admit I don’t mind hearing him on the radio. “Well spoken” is not something I’d describe the current president as and it’s something in Obama’s favor for me. (shrugging) When giving advice to someone contemplating marriage I ask them if this person is someone they think they could still stand being around thirty years from now and I’m afraid that attitude carries over to my choosing a president.
Actually, as he details in his two books, he was raised by a non-practicing mother from a Christian background who was somewhat hostile to orgainzed religion. His Kenyan father, who divorced his mother and ceased to be an active parent when Obama was 2 years old, was from a family that had converted to Islam some years back, but was personally non-practicing. His Indonesian step-father was also Muslim, but practiced minimally. During the years that Obama lived in Indonesia as a child, he attended both Christian and Muslim schools, before returning to Hawaii for middle and high school.
Until adulthood Obama did not actively practice religion, but while working as a tenant organizer in Chicago, he joined the Trinity United Church of Christ, where he remains an active congregant.
We may be in an odd position this time around in that it’s highly likely both parties will nominate someone from the Senate.
The thing about Obama is that he even lacks much experience in the Senate. So, he’s got no executive experience and very little experience working in Congress. And he’s never really been vetted in a a national race-- the Senate race he won was a joke, since the Pubbies nomnated Alan Keyes.
He’s a long shot for prez. A very long shot. I like him as a VP candidate, and the best thing he can do to get that slot is the same thing he is doing-- run for prez.
No, he was running against a strong Republican and was well ahead when Jack Ryan dropped out (he had asked his ex-wife Jeri to do something naughty that every Trekkie on earth would kill to see). Keyes was the only person they could find who would run AND pay for his own campaign because the party had already given up on a race they couldn’t win.