Wednesday, November 28, 2007

We Need Experience.

Ben Shapiro at Townhall makes an excellent point. This week Obama told us how Hillary's experience as First Lady in no way gives her the experience she needs to be President and Hillary snarks back that someone who was a just a state Senator 3 yrs ago shouldn't be talking.

Here's the difference between the Republican field and the Democratic field: The frontrunners in the Democratic Party argue over who is less experienced, while the frontrunners in the GOP argue over who is more experienced.

I have never stepped back and looked at the big picture here. This is very true. Hillary has 7 yrs in the Senate. That's it. Obama has spent 3 yrs in the Senate. John Edwards spent one term in the Senate. This hardly the kind of background we need for a President.

In contrast, Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York City for eight years, reducing crime and making NYC livable again. He showed extreme leadership for the city through the worst crisis in its history on September 11 (as he always reminds us).

Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts, balancing the budget, eliminating waste, providing healthcare insurance without raising taxes, and turning around the 2002 Olympics. Before that he was a highly successful businessman (I think it's important that a President understand running a business) He founded one of the nation's most successful venture capital and investment companies.

John McCain has represented Arizona as a Senator since 1986. He was a distinguished war hero receiving the Silver Star, a Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, and a Distinguished Flying Cross.

Fred Thompson served nine years in the Senate, representing Tennessee. He has worked as a lobbyist and an actor. (Maybe he could "act" excited sometimes?)

If you look more closely at the background of each candidate it is clear that the Republicans have the field of experience we need. As Shapiro points out:

In a time of war, Americans want someone who has real ideas -- and someone who has done more than chat with President Clinton over breakfast, or deliver a keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, or win personal injury suits. The more the Democrats attack each other over their inexperience, the more Republicans seem better qualified to fill the Oval Office.