Can a spouse use their partner's work experience to apply for a job position?

[zulchzulu]

Hillary Clinton uses her husband's experience as President to somehow make it seem like it's her experience as well.

One may think that would be like someone applying to be a bank president by saying that they were married to the previous bank president, so therefore have "the experience". If someone is married to an architect, are they just as experienced to build a home?

Is that legitimate?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. Well, she has experience, too. The latest is a Senator from New York.

MKJ

[NoodleBoy]

2. you know, she didn't waste her time buying drapes or dropping chelsea off at soccer practice while

she was first lady. She held a number of positions during the Clinton administration, and I've only ever heard her refer to those in speaking about the experiences she's gained.

By the way, I'm not a Hillary Clinton supporter.

[Zenlitened]

3. Push-poll.

[Donnachaidh]

7. no kidding

:eyes:

[zulchzulu]

11. The point is...

...we keep hearing about her experience as First Lady as some sort of semi-legislative experience to "chalk up" to her relevance as a presidential "hopeful". Does being a First Lady give you credentials to be President? Can a First Lady use her husband's resume and record as a way to convince people she is just as qualified?

If the latter is somehow implied, it's like stealing the resume from someone else to use as your own. That's my view.

[Fridays Child]

4. Specifically, which experiences of Bill's is she claiming as her own?

[Skip Intro]

13. psst

Its been my experience that some obama people become grouchy when asked for specifics.

[NoodleBoy]

14. I'm an Obama person. don't make blanket statements - makes people grouchy

[Skip Intro]

21. good point, corrected

[Clintonista2]

31. Agreed

I've noticed something about many Obama supporters- they make a wild claim, and when proven wrong/questioned further, they simply ignore you and go on to the next wild claim.

For instance: Obama supporters claim that Obama has "always been against the war", yet he voted against the Kerry-Feingold bill that would have had the troops home BY TODAY. Can an Obama supporter please explain this to me? (And yes, I'm aware that HRC voted against it too, my point is, Hillary doesn't act like something she's not)

(I'm not gonna to hold my breath for a response)

[draft_mario_cuomo]

36. Exactly. They act as if time froze in 2002 and then restarted in 2007

According to the Official Story, nothing happened from 2003-Jan. of 2007. Why do you think we always hear of where Obama stood on Iraq in 2002 but nothing about his record since he joined the senate? Kerry-Feingold is the biggest mistake he made on Iraq imo. Like your candidate, my candidate also voted for the IWR. However, also like Hillary, he is not marketed as someone who he is not. Edwards supported Kerry-Feingold btw. He was wrong on this war from 2002-2005 but he has certainly been right on everything from 2006-July 2007, whether it was Kerry-Feingold, Lieberman vs. Lamont in 2006, cutting of funds for the "surge", or standing up to * after his veto.

[ripple]

15. Foreign policy experience, for one

That was evidenced in the last debate.

Not to mention, Hillary's frequent mention of 'knowing how to fight back against the republicans', due to what happened during Bill's presidency.

[Skip Intro]

24. I believe she does know how to fight back against the repukes. I believe that a valid claim.

And an important skill.

[Fridays Child]

26. She'd better know a thing or three about that. They've gone for her jugular for years.

[Clintonista2]

34. Of course she does.. she was head of the committee which would

Prepare legislation for overhauling the nation's health-care system, and she has the scars to prove it. This was not Bill, this was HRC.

[Ethelk2044]

46. Which was a FLOP

[Clintonista2]

52. That doesn't change the fact that

She has more experience dealing with RW tactics than any other candidate.

[zulchzulu]

69. Thanks to her efforts, we now have affordable healthcare...

:crazy:

:sarcasm:

Yeah, I guess you'd call that "experience"...

[Clintonista2]

33. Huh? I'll provide you with a transcript, you find me where she claimed that

Transcript can be found here: Part I: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript/index.html

Part II: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/23/debate.transcript.part2/index.html
=====================================================================================================


I wanna know exactly where she says Bill's foreign policy experience counts as her own, and I wanna know where she claims Bill fighting back against republicans counts as her own.

[rinsd]

55. Hillary had to fight back against Republicans on her own ya know

Who first talked about the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?

Who had to put up with nonsense about Vince Foster, the travel office firings etc.

[zulchzulu]

17. Why does she parade Bill around in her campaign stops? For the free BBQ?

Give me a break.

I could cite a hundred examples. Look at her web site. Read her campaign speeches when he's there. Listen or read some of her fans drooling at the idea of having Bill "back"...

The truth is she can't stand on her own. That sends a bad message to women who might want to run in the future that they have to have validity by having a "man" to back up any doubt that they are qualified.

[ripple]

20. Agreed. As much as I would love to see a woman as president

If Hillary were to somehow overcome the GE problems facing her and achieve such an accomplishment, it will largely be perceived as an extension of Bill's legacy, rather than an accomplishment in her own right.

[Fridays Child]

25. "Parading" Bill around isn't the same thing as claiming that she...

...executed his presidential duties. This is what you've seem to be implying. If you have any evidence, you should make your case.

As for basking in someone else's glow, it's done all the time, in politics. Remember when Dan Quayle so famously tried to compare himself to Jack Kennedy? It may be distasteful to you but, just because Hillary is married to the person whose star she's hitching her wagon to, it doesn't make what she's doing any different.

[Clintonista2]

35. The same reason Obama goes on Oprah with his wife

Bill is her spouse. Why the double standard when it comes to Hillary?

[draft_mario_cuomo]

37. Why do Obama and Edwards also use their spouses in their campaigns?

Is Obama doing it to add his wife's resume as a hospital executive to his "experience" tally? :crazy:

[NYC Liberal]

51. Gimme a break

Yes, Hillary is the only candidate who has other well-known figures campaigning with her and endorsing her. Not only that, but Bill is the ONLY one doing so for Hillary. :eyes:

:sarcasm:

[rinsd]

54. Using a popular spouse is not the same as claiming their experiences & the rest of your BS is sexist

A male candidate can use his wife for campaigning and that's ok.

A woman candidate uses her husband for campaigning and she can't stand on her own.

"That sends a bad message to women who might want to run in the future that they have to have validity by having a "man" to back up any doubt that they are qualified."

Actually its say alot more about you than any large societal implications.

[mzteris]

5. if they were helping him do the "job"

sure.

It's not like he "went to the office" from 9-5 every day doing a job from which she was totally insulated, had no input, no feedback, and no training. It's not like her advice wasn't sought DAILY on nearly every single topic/aspect of the "job".

So yeah.

[TwilightZone]

6. Well, since she spent his entire presidency knitting....

I guess not.

[napi21]

8. Knowing how the WH and Washington works is very good experience!

Anyone who has never been there is greatly disadvantaged for several months! I would also suggest you can look back at the type of people BC put in power positions. Yes these were friends of his & Hillary's, but they knew what the hell they were doing to get the job done. Obciously the current Prez has really stupid friends!

[Colobo]

9. Is Laura Bush qualified?

[TreasonousBastard]

10. Can I pretend I didn't open this thread?

[MaineDem]

43. Me, too. n/t

[Blue Belle]

47. I know...

There's five minute of my life I don't want back.

[Norquist Nemesis]

49. Wish I could un-ring the bell too. n/t

[Skip Intro]

12. Where is the "bullshit poll" option? n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

16. To be fair, no one bitches too much when spouses replaces their husbands in Congress

Hardly much different a point than you're making here.

Just by way of example, I don't recall much hand wringing when Mel Carnahan's wife took his seat and left Ashcroft out in the cold.

[zulchzulu]

18. That's a little different than running for President

When Mel Carnahan and his son died a few weeks before the election and his wife Jean ran, there was not only a lot of sympathy for that disaster as well as everybody thought Ashcroft was an ass.

Apple...have an orange.

[ripple]

23. That election was clearly an extension of Carnahan's legacy,

it was more of a tribute to him than an affirmation of his wife's qualifications.

I'm glad she was elected, but if a) he had still been alive, or b) he had died years earlier, rather than during the campaign, it wouldn't have played out the way it did.

[Lilith Velkor]

19. Dunno, go ask Corazon Aquino

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

22. Yes.

:yourock: MKJ

[Bitwit1234]

27. She has almost two whole terms as senator

SHE had to have had some knowledge of Bills tenture as president.

And when you talk about experience. Obama hasn't even finished ONE term as senator and you think he would be more experienced. Damn over and over and over. As I said before and I will say it again, the republicans don't have to bash Hillary her own party, jealous, that their candidate is falling in the polls are bashing her trying to get the attention back on their candidate.

[MiserableFailure]

59. almost two whole terms as senator? is that Bush-math?

She took office in January 2001, and it's now July 2001. She's been in office for 6 and a half years. A term in the Senate is 6 years. If she is elected President then she will have served in the Senate for 8 years. I don't know what you are talking about.

[MADem]

28. Well, that's a cheap shot, really. She doesn't have "President" on her resume

She has First Lady. And NY Senator; on her second term.

And as First Lady, President Clinton didn't tell her to take a xanax and give a White House tour to the DAR, or read a single-syllable word book to a bunch of kids, he sent her ass all around the world as a very high level--the HIGHEST level, in some cultures--envoy. He also stuck her with some major projects--like the Health thing the GOP chewed her ass about.

She also was on the Watergate legal team before she was married.

I have never heard her say "Just because I was married to a President, that's a qualification for the job." So I find the question curiously, and disingenously, framed, to be honest.

She's done the same Two-Fer joke that Bill used, and for that matter, that Edwards AND Obama use...hey, if the candidates have a smart spouse, we are getting a two-fer. And that's a good thing, no matter who makes it to the show.

[saracat]

29. Well, I am not a Hillary fan, and I don't see that is what she is doing.She can't hide Bill!

She would be criticized if she tried NOT to use him(see Gore, Al, 2000 and it isn't as though she were a "traditional First lady , or a "housewife".Hillary had her own carre and was very much part of the Clinton administration. She contributed as much if not more than Bill richardson who is also campaigning on his Clinton Admin credentials.Should Hillary not be allowed to use her experience because she was married to the President?
To use yoyr example if the wife of the archetect also designed houses, and was her husbands partner she should be able to cite that experience.Same with the bankers wife.If she were a banker and was his partner, she should be able to use that experience!

[JI7]

30. in Hillary's case she can since she had an active role in the administration

of course this also means she has to take responsibility for things such as NAFTA, DOMA etc.

[PurityOfEssence]

32. Ask Courtney Love; this IS show business, after all...

Much as I'm not a Hillary fan, she can certainly claim some experience for being a part of it all for eight very busy years; much as I'm not so much of a Bill fan either, he truly values her intellect and opinion and involved her in the machinery of the administration.

There are plenty of other points to slag her on, and if she was using this a lot more than she is, she'd be open for some criticism. In this case, though, I'm sure you can find many better gripes against her than this.

[Milo_Bloom]

38. I would never vote for Clinton, BUT she is correct in this...

Her experience as first lady DOES give her more experience than others. She lived the life, travelled the world as essentially a diplomat and got to see the White House run from the inside.

In the case of a "bank president", the bank president probably doesn't live at the bank and thus, the wife, who has some other job or is at home doesn't gain any experience from it by proxy... however, being first lady is something completely different.

With that said, this experience argument is crazy. The reason experience is valuable in most jobs is because the tasks are essentially repetitive, even being the CEO. Being President doesn't involve repetitive tasks, as the whole changes each day.

[Clintonista2]

40. If you would never vote for Clinton, then this forum isn't for you

It is DEMOCRATIC underground, after all.

[Milo_Bloom]

41. Must... Follow... the.... herd.... NOT....

I wouldn't vote for Clinton, Edwards, Biden, Dodd or any of the war enablers and if GOD FORBID, one of them becomes the nominee... I will leave DU and work for a third party candidate.

[Clintonista2]

42. Good. nt.

[sniffa]

48. and you wish it was HILLARY underground

but it's not.

[Clintonista2]

53. No, I'm happy with Democraticunderground

It's not Independentunderground or Republicanunderground, its Democraticunderground. I really wonder if all the people saying "I won't vote for Hillary if she wins the nomination" have been living under a rock the past 7 years. You would think they have learned their lesson since 2000.

[sniffa]

57. they have Learned their Lesson

they don't want to vote for bush-Lite and who can bLame them?

[Clintonista2]

58. Bush-lite? Lemme geuss, Obama supporter?

'Cause we all know how you guys run a new kind of campaign, a positive one! :eyes:

I think Obama's support of Bush's Iraq via funding the war, and speaking out against/voting against the Kerry-Feingold bill is proof of his position.

[MiserableFailure]

60. Voting to provide our troops with funding

Is a bit different than sending them there in the first place, which Obama opposed, unlike Clinton. Hillary made a political calculation to vote for the war , in my opinion. If the war was going a lot better than it is then she would point to her decision to vote to authorize and say what great foresight she had.

[Clintonista2]

63. Obama was not a member of the senate when the voting happened

If an alien were to come to earth and look at the objective date, what would they see? They would see a candidate who, upon becoming elected to the senate, voted to fund the war at every turn. They would see a man, who openly spoke out against a bill that would have had the troops home by TODAY (July 31'st, 2007), and then proudly voted against it.

And as I'm familiar with the fact that conventional logic does not work on rabid Obama supporters, I'll use some Obama-logic that was tried on me in another thread to try to defend Obamas Kerry-Feingold vote: Even if Clinton had voted against the war, it wouldn't have influenced the votes, therefore, it doesn't count.

[sniffa]

61. guess again

you may be right, but most LikeLy not.

[Clintonista2]

64. So you're not an Obama support, yet you parrot his own Hillary insults?

Riiight.

[sniffa]

65. you hiLLary peopLe are so touchy

you shouLd take a cue from the rock star front runner. or is this how she'LL "fight back" too? :rofl:

riight

[Forkboy]

56. I'm not voting for her either and I plan on staying around.

Bummer,huh?

[sniffa]

62. bLasphemer

[beastieboy]

66. Word!

It amazes me how many people will refuse to back the nominee only if it's Hillary! They expect others to support their candidate if they get the nomination, don't they?

[Hippo_Tron]

39. She wasn't a first lady like Laura Bush was, she was a key advisor in the White House

Trust me, for better or worse, she was a key member of the White House staff and worked with them regularly.

[Perry Logan]

44. No doubt about it--living with a President would constitute invaluable experience.

The analogy with other professions (architecture, etc.) is specious.

[FormerDittoHead]

68. I think it COULD be applied to other jobs....

You're right - she's met most of the world leaders, ambassadors, etc. and THEY KNOW HER.

But I would like to suggest that non-technical experience can be INVALUABLE in the success of certain positions.

Off the top of my head comes real estate sales or development. Say you were Ivanka Trump. Now, by virtue of your meeting people, you knew all of the right people, I would imagine that the technical aspects would be pretty easy to learn, but knowing the right people, advisers, etc. would be a MAJOR step up to someone starting from scratch.

[electron_blue]

45. I've only heard her claim to use her experience as first lady. That's legitimate and not

the same as claiming to use Bill's experience.

[madmom]

50. there are several spouses who have taken over after their mate was

killed or died and I often wondered how they where qualified but there they are... Sonny Bono's wife comes to mind.

[AZBlue]

67. You should add a 5th option: this poll is so biased and misleading, I would never answer it.

That way most of us could vote.

[zulchzulu]

70. That's what "Other" was for

Start your own poll...