Posted by
Harvey on Friday, September 05, 2008 9:00:31 AM
Experience, or the lack of it, has become the big issue in this presidential election.
Barack Obama has less than four years in the Senate; Joe Biden has 36 years in the Senate.
John McCain has more than 22 years in the Senate; Sarah Palin has two years as a governor.
The question is this: When is 36 years of experience really 36 years of experience? It is when a person has done something new or different in every one of those 36 years. If a person does the same thing in the same way year after year, that person doesn't have 36 years of experience. That person simply has one year of experience repeated 36 times.
So, can a person who has been a small-town mayor, a state oil and gas conservation commissioner, and a governor, all in a span of a dozen or less years be more experienced than a person who has been a Senator for 36 years? It's possible. Look at the range of experiences crammed in those few years.
It's apparent to me that Sarah Palin is a fast learner. She's not afraid to do something new and different. She's willing to take on the establishement, even though she's new on the job. My point is that barring John McCain's dropping dead in his first year or two as president, there is virtually no risk in having Sarah Palin as vice president.
On the other hand, should Barack Obama become presdent and die prematurely, we would be stuck with Joe Biden. What new could he possibly bring to the oval office? I can't see that he's done anything new and different in decades.
Think about it. One can have many years of experience, of a few years of experience. But . . . is it experience or longevity?