Do gov's really have more experience than Senators?

[cushla_machree]

Why is this always perceived to be the case?

The argument i am hearing is that Obama is too inexperienced to run the country, and while palin is not either, she is only second in command, and because she is a governor has more experience to be president should it come to that. Being VP will also train her to be able to take up this task.

What experience really is needed to be a president?

[Stellabella]

1. If she needs to be 'trained' she isn't ready;.

Caribou Barbie keeps going on about 'executive experience', but what you really need is an understanding of how the world works, and the smartest and best people you can find to advise you. And then listen to them.

Bush didn't know how the world works, picked incompetent and cruel cronies to advise him and run things, and then didn't listen to anybody who didn't tell him what he wanted to hear.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

2. It's different experience, really.

Whether or not it's better or worse is up for a lot of debate. On one hand, a governor's office and cabinet is very much like the President's. In that regard, it's fairly valuable experience in knowing how to handle that setup. Also, gov's have more centralized power than do Senators - again, more in line with that of a President.

Senators, on the other hand, have been playing far, far more in the sandbox of federal issues, which I would argue is at least an equal counterpoint to any plusses a governor might have. This is especially true in issues of defense and foreign policy.

[Odin2005]

3. No, they have less political baggage then senators

When senators run for the presidency they always run the risk of their opponent using their legislative record to pull "he voted for it before he voted against it" BS by taking strategic votes, bills rejected because of "poison pill" amendments, etc. out of context.

[Winterblues]

4. They are managers and create budgets

in that respect they are more qualified but as far as government policy whether Foreign or Domestic I would think a US Senator would have their finger on the pulse of America far more than any state governor..

[sam sarrha]

5. 85 days on the job in 19 months of being paid+ being paid not to be in your house when you aren't at...

work.. well i think you know where this is going.... just another incompetent Lie'n ReThug

[rucky]

6. McCain won the nomination over 2 other governors.

Both with more experience than Palin.

[cali]

7. uh, guess what? McCain has no executive experience either

and it's moronic to believe that governors have more relevant experience than Senators. And it's not only experience that should be factored in but judgment, intelligence, character, etc.

Palin and McCain fail miserably on all those.

[FLAprogressive]

8. "Executive Experience" doesn't mean shit.

John F. Kennedy - ZERO Executive Experience

Abraham Lincoln - ZERO Executive Experience

George W. Bush - Five years of executive experience

I rest my case.

[Sebastian Doyle]

9. Chimpy was the two term governor of Texas

Didn't do him a lot of good, did it?

(and yes, for any Texans out there, I'm aware that "Governor of Texas" ain't like Governor in most states, but well... neither is Governor of the great frozen wasteland with more moose and polar bear than people)

[Johonny]

10. I think the presidential record is pretty clear

that govs do a worse job overall than people from congress.

[SoCalDem]

11. Because governors serve ONE state..and usually in obscurity

senators/congresspeople must seek consensus with legislators from 49 other states and must vote in public on everything..and cspan records every word they say, so it can be "cued up" decades later to pound them on the head with their own words..

Governors usually are term-limited and serve for a short time, taking credit from/blaming their predecessors in the early parts of their terms, and passing off to their successors in the latter parts of their terms..

[Iterate]

12. You raise the point in a useful way

The phrase was coined and it's stuck around without anyone questioning it. It just keeps getting repeated as if it means something.

What do people mean when they say "executive experience"? Making out vacation schedules? Writing reports? Hiring staff? Chair a meeting? Negotiate with an adversary? No one ever says.

If the experience value of being a governor is learning to balance competing interests in a complex organization and convincing others to follow through with your agenda, then fine.

But if that's the case, I don't see how it's that much different from the duties of a legislator.

For that matter, plenty of state legislators move into the executive branch successfully, and plenty of state executives move to the legislature or the congress. If it's such a factor, why in the last 220 years have we not had a boatload of problems, and every two years at that?

Besides all of that, there's the possibility, or necessity, of selecting people who make up for your weaknesses, either good administrators, or good policy people.

So, if you have bought into what I've said so far, the 'experience' issue comes down to familiarity with the issues, knowing the players, and knowing the procedures to get things done within the federal government. At that point Palin is out of the equation, without a doubt. She's Bush without daddy and Cheney without the charm.

And then there's that other kind of experience, the kind from outside Washington, the kind that comes from doing difficult things with ordinary good people. Mccain knows little outside the country club world of self-congratulation and easy living.

And that's where the experience of Obama and Biden really sparkles. Obama could have run Wasilla, or Alaska. He could have been a corrupt and inconsistent senator from Arizona. But there is no way in hell that McCain or Palin could have taught constitutional law, edited the Harvard law review, served on the board of those particular charities and non-profits, or organized the poor for jobs and votes. Then he took that experience and honed it in the Illinois legislature and in the Senate.

No more apologies on the experience front. I think their aggressiveness with it means they know they are weak.

Sorry, I have to re-learn the art of the short reply.

[cushla_machree]

14. How can you argue against people

Who say McCain has more experience?

How much experience in government does a president need?

I think it takes more to be president, then you governed a state for X amount of years, or served in Congress for X amount. Obama may not have worked in government as long as McCain, but i think he has other qualities that make for a good president. getting this across to people is hard.

[Iterate]

15. Don't give up, I'm slow

on the thinking and reply.

I can't get by the idea that when people -the real ones, face-to-face, not pundits -talk about experience (after they know the facts), they're really talking about something slightly different and that's what makes it so hard.

When I think back, there was a time, maybe only 1 1/2 to 2 years ago, when I said the same thing, like "there's a guy who's going to be a great President someday, with a little more time, a couple more terms, (hopefully without scandal), maybe another elected office." Within a couple of months I was thinking, "he's got it, he's ready, now is the time".

So, what switch flipped? That's why I don't think it can be a formula of days in office. And once that switch has flipped, well, I don't think it's much of a factor between two qualified candidates. Have you ever heard anyone say that they would vote for X over Y because of one more term in the senate?

Thinking out loud, so to speak, what about the young doctor you might have seen when the elder wasn't available? Two visits later you're comfortable and it's not a factor. What switch has flipped? And doesn't it make a big difference if the elder doctor highly recommends the younger?

Experience? Confidence? Or are people really saying "I don't think he's ready to lead me?", or more accurately "I don't think I'm ready yet." or "I don't know him well enough yet."

So, does it work to say timid ones "watch him, at length, 4,5 or 6 times in all kinds of settings, Go hear him speak at a rally. Look at all of the best people who surround him. Get comfortable with him, then think about experience." I'll bet by that time they're on board.

[dkofos]

13. Don't forget, bush was a governer before the coup of 2000!!