We can only hope that the person we put in charge of our nation's government has had the kind of quality experiences that will enable himer to make wise decisions on our behalf. What kind of EXPERIENCE qualifies a citizen to be put in charge of the most powerful military machine on the planet? If directly related experience is required, then you'd have to have previously served as a general in command of a large military operation.
Since none of the candidates have had that kind of direct experience, we are then forced to take a closer look at the quality of the experience resume that each candidate brings to the table. Perhaps the most valuable kind of experience that any Presidential candidate could bring to the White House is educational experience. Some questions that Charlie should ask of each of these candidates in the coming weeks:
Have you had the EXPERIENCE of learning about the history of those regions of the world where conflict has flared over the past half century?
Have you had the EXPERIENCE of learning about how nations have pursued international relations in the modern era?
Have you had any EXPERIENCE learning about how the economy functions?
Without this kind of quality EXPERIENCE, why should we even be considering you for the job of President of the United States?
Are you going to embarrass us before the world by not even having a good grasp of your own country's history?
Yes, EXPERIENCE is important, extraordinarily important. But the quality of the experiences you've had is far more important than the number of years you've spent on the planet 'experiencing things.'
By just about every measure, the quality of Barack Obama's educational EXPERIENCE far exceeds that of the Republican ticket. If all the different facets of a candidate's Experience Resume were weighted to reflect the superior value of educational experiences, then Barack Obama would be recognized as the Most Experienced of the candidates in the contest. That is because he would have far more Total Experience Points than both John McCain and Sarah Palin would have together.
Shouldn't we Democrats be pressing this point with a bit of vigor? It is certainly an Obama strength and if you reframe the EXPERIENCE issue around the educational angle, it would end up tarnishing one of McCain's perceived strengths. In fact, he'd look like the weaker candidate, based only on his rank in his graduating class in college.
One way to press the issue would be to have Olbermann, et al., to start asking the candidates to produce their transcripts. Are they not required to provide records of their finances? Why should we not require that they show us their college transcripts? We are doing the hiring; don't we have a right to know?
It's a winning argument, Democrats. McCain's Celebrity Soul Mate may be very comfortable in front of a microphone, and she may be well-qualified to perform across the country as an inspirational speaker for her party, but it is actually terrifying to think of someone with so little relevant knowledge making decisions as President. It would probably be a good idea for us to start modeling some fear of this nightmare thought.
Nontrivial Pursuits
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