Obama had a different view on experience three years ago when running against a political rookie

[draft_mario_cuomo]

At the time Obama was running in a Democratic primary for Senate in which the front-runner was a businessman who had no legislative experience (Obama was tied for 2nd and 10 points behind). The future senator used that, and the fact he was the only candidate in the 7 candidate field to speak out against the Iraq war before the war (that IWR speech sure has paid big dividends, huh?), to distinguish himself in the primary. The quote is especially ironic given the spending spree the Obama for President campaign has been on in Iowa, South Carolina, and presumably also NH, although I have not seen any numbers for New Hampshire yet.

In the grand scheme of things this means little but it makes the "judgment" mantra even less credible.

"I don't begrudge extraordinarily wealthy people spending their money. But what I do know is that although you can buy television time, you can't buy a track record and you can't buy the experience that's necessary to hit the ground running when you get to the United States Senate,'' Obama said.

From: http://www.ilsenate.com/

[illinoisprogressive]

1. like Edwards wouldn't say the same. please. it's politics.

[jefferson_dem]

2. Guess he was the only one in the Dem field to have the necessary *experience* and *judgment*

then too since "he was the only candidate in the 7 candidate field to speak out against the Iraq war before the war."

Thanks for the plug.

EDIT: I see he was also in roughly the same position in the horse race then as now -- second place and double-digits behind. Hmmm... The underdog. I like it.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

3. Sure. I am glad he took a bold "risk" to be the only 1 out of 7 primary candidates to oppose the IWR

Do you realize how much of a risk it was in a 7 candidate Democratic primary in Illinois, especially for an obscure local politician with no statewide base at the time? It was so risky it increased his chances of winning the nomination. Obama is so courageous. I am glad he has been equally as courageous since he has got to the Senate. Why, in fact, he has been just as courageous as Hillary Clinton during his time in the Senate. ;)

==EDIT: I see he was also in roughly the same position in the horse race then as now -- second place and double-digits behind. Hmmm... The underdog. I like it.==

Yes, and he was on his way to defeat until a scandal hit the front-runner right before the primary. I doubt that will happen in the presidential primaries. ;)

[jefferson_dem]

4. Your subject line there is misleading.

He wasn't one of seven to oppose. He was the ONLY one of the seven to oppose. That's just semantics, i guess.

The scandal hit the IL Repukes that year, as they were counting on Ryan until the sex trist stories hit the news.

EDIT: Thanks! :hi:

[draft_mario_cuomo]

5. Corrected

If I intended to mislead on that I would not have said this in the OP: ==. The future senator used that, and the fact he was the only candidate in the 7 candidate field to speak out against the Iraq war before the war (that IWR speech sure has paid big dividends, huh?), to distinguish himself in the primary==

There was also a scandal that took down the Democratic primary front-runner, the guy Obama implied was not experienced enough to be a senator....

[jefferson_dem]

6. Gotcha, DMC. I wasn't accusing you of trying to mislead.

Thanks for the correction.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

7. No problem

I didn't think you were but wanted to point that out just in case. You know me. I will "fight" hard but fair. :hi:

[Colobo]

8. Draft is going against Obama hard lately.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

9. The OP is no big deal. It is interestingly ironic

But it isn't as if someone is going to suddenly stop supporting him simply because Obama capitalized on his experience advantage in 2004 and now downplays the importance of experience when he is the least experienced presidential candidate. Does anyone expect a politician not to use the experience angle against a less experienced opponent?

[A-Schwarzenegger]

12. Not much to say about his own candidate Edwards though...

Odd.

[jobycom]

10. The only absolute in politics is the absolute need to get elected.

He's a politician, he'll say what he has to and hope it sticks.

I seem to remember the person in your avatar changing his opinion on a rather major issue from his 04 run. I'm still burning from him calling us war protestors bad names back then. Besides, he doesn't have much more experience than Obama.

I'll vote for whichever candidate I choose based on what I think they can and will do, not on the political games they've played in the past. Obama and Edwards both should be thankful for that. :)

[draft_mario_cuomo]

11. Exactly. They are all politicians

After all, they can't do any good if they do not get elected.

[AtomicKitten]

13. HRC has only slightly more experience than Edwards and Obama.

Al Gore has experience.

[Clintonista2]

14. HRC has informal experience

She was very active within Bill Clintons adminstration. Say what you will about her experience, she didn't sit at home and bake cookies in the WH.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

19. Exactly nt

[tritsofme]

15. If anything, Edwards has less legislative experience than Obama

So I don't know if this whole line is really going to go anywhere.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

18. Edwards has 3x more experience than Obama

Besides, Edwards isn't who Obama is defending against when it comes to experience. He is fighting 1) The common perception of him being inexperienced 2) HRC's experience 3) And to a lesser extent the wealth of experience Biden, Richardson, and Dodd have.

[tritsofme]

20. Obama was in the Illinois state legislature since 1996

Probably representing more people than many congressmen.

Edwards served one six year term in the Senate

[draft_mario_cuomo]

21. And no one except for BO supporters think that matters

Does playing in the minors qualify you to pitch in the World Series?

[dsc]

22. There are 59 State Senators in Illinois and only 19 Congressmen

Obama represented about a third as many people. Even the smallest state has over one third of the typical Congressional seat.

[ellacott]

16. People are looking for anything, you guys are really reaching

His statement doesn't seem contradictory at all. People are incorrect when they say he has no experience and that Hillary has a wealth of experience.

If you count legislative experience he had it then and he has it now. According to your post his opponent had no experience.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

17. His opponent had "experience" but not political experience

Clearly, Obama in 2004 did not put much stock in non-political experience. Now we hear about him being a community organizer, professor, lawyer as qualifications for him being the most powerful person on Earth. ;)

Only BO fans think experience in the minors qualifies you to pitch in the World Series. For the life of me I can't understand why BO supporters continue to cling to that meme: America isn't buying it. Only about 1 in 3 Americans think Obama is qualified enough and the number among Democrats is under 50%.