Originally posted by RL:
As for experience, McCain and Palin have something Obama does not; they have a track record of accomplishments. His are too numerous to mention (and I disagreed with about half of them, including the egregious McCain-Feingold bill). She has successfully fought the establishment to reform ethics in government and was in the process of helping us in our energy independence with the natural gas pipeline. So while she hasn't been in office long, she has shown she can get things done.
Obama, OTOH, hasn't shown an ability to do anything except vote "Present" most of the time. Keep in mind Obama had been a Senator for 143 days when he formed his presidential exploratory committee. At least Sarah Palin had two years as governor, which represents executive experience. True, not the same as the presidential level, but executive experience helps which is why George W. Bush could get away with a little foreign policy inexperience since he had been governor for six years of the second most populous state in the union. Obama's had the title of Senator longer than Palin's been governor, but counting the time actually spent doing Senate business and you'll find Obama hasn't actually shown up for most of his tenure.
As for the Democratic ticket, the same holds true when it comes to the "wrong" person at the top. Hardly anyone would say that Joe Biden doesn't have experience. By your reasoning, Biden should be at the top of his ticket. But hey, he didn't run either. When he did run a few years back, he was forced to withdraw after his bout with plagiarism came up. He would not have won a nomination even if he had run.
As for foreign policy experience, LabRat said that Bush got a pass while Obama doesn't. She forgets the circumstances. In 2000, there was no more enemy. The twin towers were still standing and hardly anyone had ever heard of al Qaeda. The 2000 elections were fought on the failing Clinton economy and virtually nothing else. Nobody cared if Bush had no foreign policy experience since who'd need it with Russia as an "ally" and no major conflicts going on around the world. The Cold War was over and we were still reaping the "benefits" of the "peace dividend." Today, foreign policy is front and center.
I'll save the comment on Bush's foreign policy "mess" for another time, seeing as we've essentially won in Iraq and kicked al Qaeda's tail in the process. I'll take that kind of mess anytime.
P.S. Yes I saw the smilie.
I love your logic!
