I stepped in a giant pile of Stupid today, and some of the comments that wafted up from it were so amazingly ludicrous that I just have to make a few things clear to some members of Daily Kos who are not quite full citizens of this dimension, and aren't quite clear on the basic premises of liberalism and progressivism. So below is a quick primer.
America is NOT a monarchy.
Monarchies do NOT work beyond purely ceremonial functions.
Family members of people in government are NOT more suited to government themselves than more qualified members of the general public.
Nepotism is a BAD thing.
Every person given power because of family connections means another, equally or more qualified person is DENIED a job for NOT having those connections.
The word for the practice of keeping public offices within families indefinitely is FEUDALISM.
Being opposed to politically powerful men giving their wives public offices as gifts is NOT "sexism."
Implying that women in general would be helpless to succeed in life if not for such nepotism IS sexism.
Voting for the Iraq War and refusing to admit being wrong about it even to this day is NOT the act of a conscientious, honorable, courageous Democratic leader.
Public offices are NOT possessions.
Public offices are NOT achievements in and of themselves.
Public offices are JOBS.
If you do not DO the JOB, you did NOT have the office.
If you do NOT do the job WELL, you can NOT cite it as evidence of qualification for an even higher office.
Merely BEING in one office is NOT evidence of adequate experience for another office.
To take or give credit for an office, you have to cite actual ACHIEVEMENTS completed as part of that office's duties.
Saying a person is ethically and professionally qualified to be President BECAUSE they are a Senator, or a Governor, or a Secretary of State is like saying you qualify to be a fighter pilot because you own a hang-glider. It's not enough information, and probably totally wrong.
The kind of system where offices ARE achievements in themselves irrespective of specific accomplishment is called FEUDALISM.
Feudalism SUCKS. It does NOT work. Accountability and opportunity are rare bordering on impossible.
We have THREE branches of government in the United States, and they are COEQUAL. So stop fixating on one guy at the top of one branch.
Here endeth the messin'.