Poll: Let's talk experience...what kinds of experiences are most important for a future President

[wyldwolf]

Poll question: Poll: Let's talk experience...what kinds of experiences are most important for a future President

“She’s very smart … people rightly give her credit for having been a participant in the Clinton administration and for doing some heavy lifting on issues.” Barack Obama, speaking of Hillary Clinton’s White House experience and contradicting Obama supporters - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 8/22/07

[MonkeyFunk]

1. I wish everybody would shut up about experience

Candidates with a lot of it will tout that. And they'll fault their opponents who have little of it.

It's perfectly normal and expected - it's up to voters to decide how much weight to give that.

[jobycom]

5. Which is why people will not shut up about it.

It's a critical aspect of any candidate, so voters, candidates, and the media will talk about it. On election day, voters get to decide how much a factor they think it should be. In four years, it comes up again.

And you know what will happen, don't you? If Obama or Edwards win, for instance, then in four years he will claim that his opponent doesn't have the experience he has in dealing with crises the president has to handle. Politics. It would be funny if it weren't so damn funny.

[Colobo]

2. Obama, Clinton and Edwards are ready. They have the experience necessary.

[William769]

3. Number 2. NT

[jefferson_dem]

17. Dude! Did you just refer to Hillary as "Number 2"?

That ain't right. :puke:

[JDPriestly]

4. The problem with Hillary's experience

is that the Clinton administration in which she got that experience brought us NAFTA and a drove of other problems including Whitewater. We had to relive Viet Nam during Kerry's candidacy. I don't want to have to relive the '90s during Hillary's candidacy. I want to look to the future. We have had enough Nixon administration era people in Bush's administration. I do not want to see either Hillary or Fred Thompson run. They are the last of the Nixon impeachment remnants on the political scene. Let it go. Let's don't walk backwards.

[paulk]

13. Whitewater was a "problem"?

Whitewater was a right wing witch hunt.... that came up empty, btw.

[JDPriestly]

14. I know it was totally bogus, but it is still a problem because

so many people believed there had to be something to it. I have always wondered where the Whitewater documents were. I know that Linda Tripp worked in the office in which they were most likely "misplaced." I would love to know what really happened there. I believe the documents were just one more thing that exonerated Hillary. I do not want to have to hear about Whitewater ever again. It was a waste of time the first few times we heard about it. It is a catchy name, and a lot of people salivate for Hillary's hide like Pavlov's dogs when they hear the word. It is unfortunate, but still a fact that even though it was a pack of lies, the Whitewater "scandal" will haunt Hillary forever. That's the politics of people like Rove. We have to discredit them before we will ever be able to fully rehabilitate Hillary's reputation. Even then, it will be very difficult to win an election if Hillary is the candidate because the Republicans will distract voters with all the rehashing of the phony "scandals" and alleged misdeeds of the Clinton administration.

[paulk]

19. The Democratic nominee, and it might be Hillary,

will distract voters with the 8 year record of complete incompetence exhibited by the Bush admin. and it's Republican helpers. Tired old scandals, long since discredited, will pale in comparison.

[panader0]

6. It seems as if every choice has HRC's name on it.

As Barack said, and I paraphrase, "Cheney has lots of experience" Does that make him better. I think you left out the realm of ideas and ideals.

[wyldwolf]

8. I think you missed the first poll where every choice has OBAMA'S name on it.

But my copycat posts always do seem to get more traction.

[Adelante]

7. I voted No. 2

I would always add running a large organization to any of these lists, so it's not just an executive setting, but executive experience I consider a plus. However, I think both Clinton and Obama have sufficient political experience of various types to handle the presidency.

[frazzled]

9. There is no forumla for experience that is dispositive

Experience comes in many forms, and is not the measure so much as character, judgment, intelligence, and leadership ability.

[jojo54]

10. How about little experience posturing to the corporate

lobbyists & the religious right?

How about a vast amount of experience eating, breathing & sleeping with the "non-beautiful" people and knowing the huge hurdles they experience in life every day?

That's who we need in the W.H., someone who really, honestly knows what's going on down in the ranks. I'm not sure that any one of these candidates (except maybe Kucinich) can truely say "I've been there".

[jobycom]

11. Those are fine qualifications to have, but there are others.

Compassion, integrity, honesty, intellect, self-assuredness, wisdom, the ability and confidence to stand up to opponents and allies who don't believe as you do, the realization that you are fallible and should sometimes yield to those who know more than you, the ability to handle stress without becoming crippled by indecision or fear, an understanding of when a compromise gets you closer to your goal and when it simply gives your enemies what they want, love, charity, a short memory for offenses, a long memory for offenders, a talent for persuasion...

There are even some negative traits that help a president--ambition, pride, stubbornness, the ability to be cold-hearted if needed...

Experience is very important to me, for two reasons: one, it means the person has a better understanding of the job, and two, it shows what qualifications a person has shown in the past. Some people can talk a good game, but when it comes to playing, they choke (as any Cowboys fan can tell you). Experience gives you a reference point to look back on, to see if someone has a history of choking.

I think a good case can be made for each of our candidates that their combination of experience and other qualities would make them a fine president. I am leaning to one, but I have confidence in all of them. I have issues with all of them, too.

Just my thoughts. I didn't vote in the poll, since it's obviously not really a poll. It points out the solid credentials of one candidate, but there are other ways of judging each.

[HeraldSquare212]

12. demonstrated good judgment? n/t

[killbotfactory]

15. Hillary's supporters give her so much credit

It's like she's already been president.

How can anyone possibly top that?

[Broke Dad]

16. Judgment and consensus building . . .

Judgment - how would the Cuban missile crisis turned out in Nixon was president? How would the Iran hostage crisis turned out if Ford was president? What would Bosnia be like today if senior Bush was president? Or Dole?

Second, the president must be able to work with everyone. Face it, in America, you can't dictate change. Like Obama says, it has to come from the bottom up. You need the good guys and the bad guys to concede and buy in. If you can't convince your adversaries, you probably can't pass it through Congress. Or you need to have 60%+ of the American people behind you, so that your adversaries feel the heat. Triangulation and sideshows like Monica won't get it done.

Finally, the ability to identify, hire and appoint good qualified people . . . even if they don't come from your "Friends List."


ABC! ABC!

[renie408]

18. What I really want to know is whether apples or oranges are the better fruit. n/t