Obama’s Experience Delusion

You think Sarah Palin “lacks the experience” to be President? Great! Let’s play that game, establish the rules, and apply those rules to all of the candidates on the slate for President or Vice President. But let’s be consistent.

First question–Have you ever been elected or appointed as a chief executive in charge of anything?

Barack Obama–Yes. He was named Chairman of the Board for the Chicago Annenberg Challenge and oversaw more than $100 million in grants. But he never mentions this part of his resume and members of the press, by and large, have declined to investigate this. Why? Well, he got the job thanks to the help of unrepentant terrorist William Ayers and, when you look at the grants, they usually went to folks who had little to do with educating children. He’s been a state legislator and established a record of missing votes or voting present rather than take a tough stand on issues. As a U.S. Senator he achieved a similar record of mediocrity and failed to hold a single hearing. The only thing he says he has managed is a campaign staff.

John McCain–Yes. He was a commanding officer of a Naval training squadron. He served in Congress and has been a Senator for more than 21 years. During his first years in the Senate he got his hands dirty with the Keating five financial scandal. He took money and accepted favors from Charles Keating. He was cleared of an ethics charge violation but was reprimanded from showing poor judgment. Since then he has re-invented himself as a maverick and reformer. He subsequently carved out a pretty distinguished record and has his name attached to a landmark campaign finance reform bill. He has chaired numerous Senate hearings. He has managed campaign staff.

Joe Biden–No. Joe has spent his life as a politician. One stint with the City Council and the rest as Senator. He’s done excellent work as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee but received less sterling marks for his tenure as Chair of the Judiciary Committee. He has only managed campaign staffs. However, he did become wealthy as a U.S. Senator. He’s never held a real job outside of Government.

Sarah Palin–Yes. She was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Small town job, not a lot of money at stake. But as Governor of Alaska, Palin operates a $9 billion budget, and manages $13 billion in revenue. Furthermore, she runs a government that employs 25,000 people. She is the Commander of the Alaska National Guard. Although she has been on the job for only two years, she has more executive level management experience than all three of the other candidates.

I hope the McCain/Palin camp take on the experience question head on. I think the conventional wisdom that Palin’s selection prevents McCain from making the argument about Obama’s limited experience is wrong. Palin may not have much foreign policy experience but, on balance, she has had more experience than Barack and she is only in the second position.

Second question–Have you ever directly challenged or attacked your party’s entrenched powers?

Barack Obama–Nope. NEVAH!! In fact, when it came to backing efforts to reform the dirty politics of the Chicago Democrats Barack was missing in action. As David Freddoso meticulously documents, Barack Obama repeatedly and knowingly enabled Chicago politicians who were engaged in illegal patronage hiring and other corrupt practices (see pp. 8-16 for full details in The Case Against Barack Obama).

Joe Biden–Nope. Joe is a likable, smart Senator. But he has never put his life or career on the line over any public issue. If you know of one please weigh in. It is one thing to say “I have courage” but it is another thing to actually show it.

John McCain–One phrase–McCain Feingold. Like him or not, John McCain has gone after the pork spending habits of fellow Republicans.

Sarah Palin–Took on and beat the Republican party establishment for violating ethics and passing inside information to lobbyists. She was a Republican whistleblower and, against tough odds, beat the likes of Ted Stephens, Randy Reudrich (who chaired the Republican Party), and the former Republican attorney general. Not bad for a beauty queen mom.

Once the conventions are over and the ads start rolling out the door, it looks to me like the Republicans at least have a compelling story to tell about cleaning up Washington. A normal Republican would be toast against any Democrat, because Republicans controlled the House and Senate for much of the last eight years. Who better to challenge that record than two folks with records of swimming upstream against the Washington establishment? And the Democrats might want to pause before drinking the giddy juice. They’ve been in charge of the House and Senate for two years and have nothing to show. It is tough (not impossible) to blame Republicans for what the Democrats failed to do in 2007 and 2008.

I will wager you this–if the Republicans are able to frame the election in terms of experience and character, they are likely to win the White House. If Obama and Biden take this bait they will only have themselves to blame when they lose. Going to be a fascinating two months.