(no subject)
“He/She is not qualified to be President of the United States.” This point has been debated quite frequently these days. As a McCain supporter I am often asked to defend the qualifications of Sarah Palin to be Vice President, just a “heartbeat away” from becoming President.
Many McCain supporters often argue the same point about Barack Obama, i.e. is he experienced enough, and does he have the qualifications to be, President of The United States (POTUS).
I accept the fact that Ms. Palin is not the most qualified person to be President of these United States. However, when challenged by an Obama supporter about her qualifications, I usually abstain from joining their argument and instead ask them if they would enumerate a few of the finer points of experience that qualify a person to be POTUS (or even Vice POTUS). The usual response? - A lull in the discussion. It seems that most people treat qualifications to be President the same way that in 1964 United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart defined obscenity, they know it when they see it.
OK, I might buy that. But just for fun, lets look at how We The People, in the thirteen presidential elections of the last half of the twentieth century (1952 - 2000), reacted to the experience and qualifications of candidates for POTUS.
There are times when we have elected the least experienced or qualified candidate, and it worked out just fine:
1. In 1952 we elected General Dwight Eisenhower over the more qualified Governor Adlai Stevenson. (Eisenhower defeated Stevenson again in 1956.)
2. In 1960 we elected Senator John Kennedy over the sitting Vice President Richard Nixon.
3. In 1980 we elected Ex-Governor Ronald Reagan over the sitting President Jimmy Carter.
In the above cases where we elected the less experienced candidate everything worked out fine. In my opinion, only in the elections of 1976 and 1992 did we elect the least qualified candidate and suffer for it:
• 1976 - Governor Jimmy Carter vs President Gerald Ford
• 1992 - Governor William Clinton vs President George Bush
Some would add the 2000 election to this list:
• 2000 - Governor George W Bush vs Vice President Al Gore
There are times when we have elected the most experienced or qualified candidate, and it didn’t work out well:
1. In 1964 we elected sitting President Lyndon Johnson over Senator Barry Goldwater. President Johnson would suffer poorly in his term as president and withdrew from running for reelection in 1968 as he would likely lose his own parties nomination.
2. In 1972 we elected sitting President Richard Nixon over Senator George McGovern. President Nixon resigned from office rather than be impeached after Watergate.
3. In 1988 we elected Vice President George Bush over Governor Michael Dukakis. In 1992 President Bush was challenged in his own party after going against his own pledge to not raise taxes and was defeated by a less qualified democrat in 1996.
4. In 1996 we reelected President William Clinton over Senator Bob Dole. President Clinton’s personal conduct would lead to his impeachment and years of government gridlock.
Arguably the most qualified person to ever run for president, George H W Bush, was elected to only one term, denied a second term by the governor of the small state of Arkansas.
Arguably the second most qualified person to ever run for president, Richard Nixon, was forced from office in advance of his own impeachment for crimes against the constitution.
Arguably the third most qualified person to ever run for president, Adlai Stevenson, was twice rejected by the voters.
Four times the voters have rejected sitting presidents looking for re-election. Certainly being POTUS is an argument for experience. But in the case of Ford, Carter, and Bush, the voters said that they’d rather have a person with less presidential experience take over the reigns of command. In Johnson’s case, voters from his own party were not likely to re-nominate him, so he decided not to run.
Four times the voters have rejected sitting or ex vice presidents looking to use their experience and qualifications as VP to move to the top job. In the case of Nixon (1960), and Gore (2000), the voters said that they’d rather have a person with less presidential experience in the white house that the sitting VP. The election of 1968 was as confusing as the times. Both parties ran candidates that were fairly equal in their experience and qualifications.
• 1968 - Ex-Vice President Richard Nixon over sitting Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
It is in only the 1984 election where I feel we elected the most qualified candidate and were all the better for it:
• 1984 - President Ronald Reagan over Ex-Vice President Walter Mondale.
Qualifications are very hard to define. Some of my favorite presidents were extremely qualified (Bush 41), and some were ex governors (Reagan). While other extremely qualified persons (Nixon) and ex governors (Clinton) were my least favorite.
I think that the following are required qualifications for becoming president:
- Experience at elected office,
- Experience at the CEO/President/Chief Administrator of a private business, college, or institution,
- A decent education, and
- Exposure to the world at large.
A mix of leadership, scholarship, and management skills and experience make up this hard to describe attribute of “qualifications.”
So, in my opinion:
Is Barack Obama qualified to be President of The United States? No.
Is Sarah Palin is qualified to be VP? Sure.
Is Sarah Palin qualified to be President of The United States? No.
But then stranger things have happened. I feel that both Obama and Palin have a chance of being great leaders in spite of the fact that they don't meet my criteria for qualifications.. The only thing I feel I know for sure is that we'll survive whatever happens... who ever wins... life will go on and better days are ahead.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Many McCain supporters often argue the same point about Barack Obama, i.e. is he experienced enough, and does he have the qualifications to be, President of The United States (POTUS).
I accept the fact that Ms. Palin is not the most qualified person to be President of these United States. However, when challenged by an Obama supporter about her qualifications, I usually abstain from joining their argument and instead ask them if they would enumerate a few of the finer points of experience that qualify a person to be POTUS (or even Vice POTUS). The usual response? - A lull in the discussion. It seems that most people treat qualifications to be President the same way that in 1964 United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart defined obscenity, they know it when they see it.
OK, I might buy that. But just for fun, lets look at how We The People, in the thirteen presidential elections of the last half of the twentieth century (1952 - 2000), reacted to the experience and qualifications of candidates for POTUS.
There are times when we have elected the least experienced or qualified candidate, and it worked out just fine:
1. In 1952 we elected General Dwight Eisenhower over the more qualified Governor Adlai Stevenson. (Eisenhower defeated Stevenson again in 1956.)
2. In 1960 we elected Senator John Kennedy over the sitting Vice President Richard Nixon.
3. In 1980 we elected Ex-Governor Ronald Reagan over the sitting President Jimmy Carter.
In the above cases where we elected the less experienced candidate everything worked out fine. In my opinion, only in the elections of 1976 and 1992 did we elect the least qualified candidate and suffer for it:
• 1976 - Governor Jimmy Carter vs President Gerald Ford
• 1992 - Governor William Clinton vs President George Bush
Some would add the 2000 election to this list:
• 2000 - Governor George W Bush vs Vice President Al Gore
There are times when we have elected the most experienced or qualified candidate, and it didn’t work out well:
1. In 1964 we elected sitting President Lyndon Johnson over Senator Barry Goldwater. President Johnson would suffer poorly in his term as president and withdrew from running for reelection in 1968 as he would likely lose his own parties nomination.
2. In 1972 we elected sitting President Richard Nixon over Senator George McGovern. President Nixon resigned from office rather than be impeached after Watergate.
3. In 1988 we elected Vice President George Bush over Governor Michael Dukakis. In 1992 President Bush was challenged in his own party after going against his own pledge to not raise taxes and was defeated by a less qualified democrat in 1996.
4. In 1996 we reelected President William Clinton over Senator Bob Dole. President Clinton’s personal conduct would lead to his impeachment and years of government gridlock.
Arguably the most qualified person to ever run for president, George H W Bush, was elected to only one term, denied a second term by the governor of the small state of Arkansas.
Arguably the second most qualified person to ever run for president, Richard Nixon, was forced from office in advance of his own impeachment for crimes against the constitution.
Arguably the third most qualified person to ever run for president, Adlai Stevenson, was twice rejected by the voters.
Four times the voters have rejected sitting presidents looking for re-election. Certainly being POTUS is an argument for experience. But in the case of Ford, Carter, and Bush, the voters said that they’d rather have a person with less presidential experience take over the reigns of command. In Johnson’s case, voters from his own party were not likely to re-nominate him, so he decided not to run.
Four times the voters have rejected sitting or ex vice presidents looking to use their experience and qualifications as VP to move to the top job. In the case of Nixon (1960), and Gore (2000), the voters said that they’d rather have a person with less presidential experience in the white house that the sitting VP. The election of 1968 was as confusing as the times. Both parties ran candidates that were fairly equal in their experience and qualifications.
• 1968 - Ex-Vice President Richard Nixon over sitting Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
It is in only the 1984 election where I feel we elected the most qualified candidate and were all the better for it:
• 1984 - President Ronald Reagan over Ex-Vice President Walter Mondale.
Qualifications are very hard to define. Some of my favorite presidents were extremely qualified (Bush 41), and some were ex governors (Reagan). While other extremely qualified persons (Nixon) and ex governors (Clinton) were my least favorite.
I think that the following are required qualifications for becoming president:
- Experience at elected office,
- Experience at the CEO/President/Chief Administrator of a private business, college, or institution,
- A decent education, and
- Exposure to the world at large.
A mix of leadership, scholarship, and management skills and experience make up this hard to describe attribute of “qualifications.”
So, in my opinion:
Is Barack Obama qualified to be President of The United States? No.
Is Sarah Palin is qualified to be VP? Sure.
Is Sarah Palin qualified to be President of The United States? No.
But then stranger things have happened. I feel that both Obama and Palin have a chance of being great leaders in spite of the fact that they don't meet my criteria for qualifications.. The only thing I feel I know for sure is that we'll survive whatever happens... who ever wins... life will go on and better days are ahead.
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.