<p>Like maybe running a State for a few years. Or running a major corporation. In other words, something other than just talking and talking and talking. All Obama has done is talk. Richardson has major foreign policy experience under Pres Clinton and is the Governor of a State. Obama is pretty and speaks well – that’s it.</p>
<p>I think the real reason most presidents are former governors is that they don’t have a long trail of votes they have to explain. I thought the fact that Clinton didn’t really understand how Congress worked caused a lot of problems in his first term.</p>
Yes. Senators spend most of their time talking which means they are campaigning nearly all the time. Governors on the other hand must hire and fire many people, they must develop budgets and get them passed, and are held solely responsible for success and failure. Senators just sit around all day coming up with grand thoughts and being cordial with one another. The federal government is a gigantic organization that must be managed. Without management experience, a candidate won’t make a good President.</p>
<p>To my way of thinking, Biden, Dodd, and Clinton and, probably, Richardson are disqualified by their experience - they bought the Big Lie of 1998 which paved the way for their support of the aggressive, hostile occupation of Iraq. When experience really counted, they failed the test.</p>
<p>They also failed the test when Madeleine Albright went on national tv in 1996 and openly admitted to actions directly resulting in the death of 500,000 children - the Clinton genocide. (There was, by the way, a candidate who called it for what it was, so it wasn’t for lack of informaton.)</p>
<p>This is not the kind of experience we want in the leader of a democratic nation.)</p>
<p>Not as a point of law but in terms of actual results, Senators are essentially excluded from being elected president. A sitting senator has been elected president only twice in the entire history of the US: John Kennedy and Warren Harding. Most recent US presidents have been governors or former governors.</p>
<p>Obama is consistent. He is also nice, not involved in the nitpicking and nastiness to the extent of the others. That says a lot about a person. He has strength and discipline and character. I haven’t seen that in politics since, um, Kerry!</p>
<p>And what will Oprah do for him? A lot. I thought this was a thread about Oprah!</p>
<p>I think a person who is very smart and very well-educated could make an excellent President, whether experienced or not. Presumably if he were elected, Senator Obama would compile a team that would have plenty of specific experience in each area.</p>
<p>I thought this was a thread about Oprah!
Oh sorry- my D watches Oprah- she is always sending me links to her shows- it reminds me of my paternal grandmother, who used to send newspaper clippings to my mother- which she ignored.</p>
<p>I do like Oprah & loved her in The Color Purple, but I don’t usually read her magazine - or look to her for advice. ( Oprah reminds me of a friend, who is also an accomplished African American who struggles with her weight & I think it is because she couldn’t possibly do all she does and get more than 4 hours of sleep)</p>
<p>I like Obama because despite his relative youth- I think he is the best candidate to bridge communication between various factors of our country.</p>
<p>The candidate in the last election that was most aligned with my views was Kucinich- but unfortunately- he didn’t have momentum or what he needed to become more visible.</p>
<p>I don’t agree with Obama 100%, but I think he has a strong center & a strong center of support & I would like to see those in this country who are falling over the edge- either right or left, brought back a little closer to center.</p>
<p>Kitty, I can’t stand Oprah, but took a peak because your threads are usually fun. I do think she will be a big boost for Obama.</p>
<p>Kucinich is/was my favorite also, but it is obvious he doesn’t have the backing. </p>
<p>Interesting that McCarthy was a youth favorite. I wasn’t aware. He was before my time, but as a youth, an anti-Communist wouldn’t have been popular. I remember lots of Communist/Marxist leaning friends.</p>
, but don’t underestimate the power of the internets to rally voters.