Sarah Palin Much Better Qualified to Be President Than John McCain
In defending McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin for Vice President of the United States, and in comparing her to Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, Republicans continue to claim that Palin is much more qualified and much better prepared to be Vice President because of her superior “executive” experience. They also pooh-pooh Barack Obama’s legislative experience both as an Illinois State Senator and as a U.S. Senator.
Well, if “executive experience” is the key for a position a heartbeat away from the President of the United States, let’s compare Palin’s executive experience to that of her mentor, John McCain:
First, Sarah Palin’s “executive experience”:
* Four years as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska
* 18 months as Governor of Alaska
Now, John McCain’s “executive experience”
* One year as commanding officer of a training squadron in Florida.
The former POW, fighter pilot, and hero, then went on to serve meritoriously as the Navy’s liaison to the U.S. Senate. Of this assignment, McCain has said that it represented his “real entry into the world of politics and the beginning of my second career as a public servant” Not much “executive experience” here.
After retiring from the Navy in 1981, John McCain went to work for his new father-in-law’s Anheuser Busch as Vice President of Public Relations at the beer distributorship. Not much “executive experience” there—except perhaps for preparing him to veto every beer that comes across his desk…
The next year he started pursuing his political career, one that now encompasses a total of almost 16 years of that dreaded, disqualifying, inside-the-beltway, non-executive, legislative experience, of which Barack Obama luckily doesn’t have quite four years yet.
Well, given Sarah Palin’s overwhelming “executive experience,” given her lack of that disqualifying Washington legislative experience, given her overwhelming “juniority” over John McCain, and given so many other superb qualities and qualifications attributed to her by Republicans, why isn’t she the Republican Presidential candidate?
11 Responses to “Sarah Palin Much Better Qualified to Be President Than John McCain”
I do wonder what Senator Biden was doing while John McCain was in Vietnam?
Nobody is arguing that Palin's less-than-a-decade executive experience is as weighty as John McCain's long career in public service and political leadership. And nobody is arguing that Obama's less-than-a-decade legislative experience is as weighty as Joe Biden's long career as a Senator involved in helping shape key foreign policy decisions.
Obama and Palin are about the same age, with about the same length of service in political leadership. The problem is that Obama hasn't led anything but a Presidential campaign.
Focusing on Palin's “executive experience” when compared to Obama is a winning strategy for Republicans. It's pretty sad when the democrats' candidate for president is a lightweight compared to the Republican party's candidate for Vice President.
This blog post, in a futile attempt to take the sting out of a great Republican talking point, just reminds people about what an untested, untrustworthy leader Obama would be.
Biden was out getting a college education.
If I recall correctly, so was Cheney. Rush was out too, with a boil on his butt or something (he was a notoriously bad student)….
cfpete:
Getting ready for his harrowing hair-plug implants, which deserve commendation as the kind of suffering which builds character. NOT!
Biden is the sort of second-rater that is far less competent than Sen. Lugar as Chmn of the Senate Foreign Relations Cte. And the kind of guy whose lack of on-the-ground experience in military affairs caused him to confuse battalions for brigades.
But he's never gone so far as to believe out loud that the USA has 57 states.
WritingAthena:
I'm pretty sure the post isn't a joke, but if I find out, I'll letcha know!
So are we not arguing the “executive experience” angle any more? Is it now “public service and political leadership”? Wow, talking points change so fast these days.
Uh, if we recall the man with 'executive” experience as Governor of Texas attacked a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and was asleep at the wheel during the biggest national disaster in our history.
But if you go far back enough in history you find a man with no executive experience and little legislative experience did a fair job in keeping this country united. His name was Abraham Lincoln.
@onely
Well, sugar, that's what makes 'em talking points–they're not to be mistaken for substantial arguments. If you want those, you'll have to come to my blog.
Seems that Palin's standout accomplishments as an executive have been to leave her town in huge debt and to demonstrate vindictiveness and pandering opportunism as a governor. Those are certainly winning qualities in a candidate.
Obama and McCain received the votes from their parties, in a sense they earned their standing, regardless of experience. If the people didn't want them as their nominees, they wouldn't be here. The selection of the running mate doesn't get to be judged by party, only by the general electorate. Obama picked a veteran politico with a career's worth of experience. McCain picked a mediocre governor over other more experienced candidates, a governor whose only talent seems to be having no qualms about screwing people over, lying, and blowing with the political wind. Oh and she's anti-abortion.
So far the best term for her style was one I found on FireDogLake.
Snowbilly.
Palin more experienced than McCain? Oh, puhleeze… McCain is much more qualified than Palin to be president. And he probably would make a decent president, if you happen to like his policies, are willing to take a chance on his “shoot from the hip” decisions, continue this country in wars, and where he wants to take the country. I just happen to disagree with him, question his judgement and ability to do more than just be a mediocre president. Oh and all the advice he gets from his advisors who are also on the payrolls as lobbyists to foreign countries causes me concern, too.
onleyone
Such a notoriously bad student that his GP at Yale was 77, one point ABOVE the fictitious Purple Heart winner he ran against in 2004 [who still hasn't made his Navy records available to the public three years after he promised to.]
And Al Gore got a D+ on his only Science course, which he took in Divinity School as he was too STUPID to get into Harvard Law, even with a US Senator as his daddy. So much for Global Warming credentials!
daveinboca:
uh, what? i'm not sure who you're defending. i was saying Rush Limbaugh was a bad student. he's even admitted as much. what are you going on about?
and kerry? he wasn't bad, but he wasn't great. vietnam was a mess. who can say? the guys who served on his crew thought he was alright. but why does that matter now, anyway? what's your point?
and i don't care any more how dumb you think al gore is; that's not what makes him right or wrong. it's the evidence, which is more than a little compelling (for the record, i have a strong science background, and am NOT dumb.)
i hope i addressed your comments, i'm not sure exactly what you were talking about in the first place.