All experience is not created equal

By Cordeiro

Filed Under Race for White House 2008 on Sep 3 

In deference to Kaiser’s Lament about the seemingly never ending tit for tat exchanges between the two campaigns on the issue of experience (or lack thereof), I was going to leave the issue alone. Really. I was.

But then Obama came out with this (un-TelePromTered) zinger glorifying his executive experience compared with that of Governor Sarah Palin during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper:

Cooper: And Senator Obama, my final question, some of your Republican critics have said you don’t have the experience to handle a situation like this. They’ve in fact said that Governor Palin has more executive experience as mayor of a small town and as governor of a big state of Alaska. What’s your response?

Obama: Well, my understanding is that Governor Palin’s town of Wasilla has I think 50 employees. We’ve got 2,500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. So I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute I think has been made clear over the last couple of years.

So, Obama’s experience running for office trumps that of an actual elected official serving in the capacity of chief executive at both a local and state level. Now there’s a take I haven’t heard before.

First off, running a campaign holds little in comparison to running a municipality or a state for that matter. Campaigns have, by definition, finite life spans. On November 5th – win or lose – the Obama-Biden 2008 campaign will cease to exist. Smart campaign staffers will make sure their paychecks clear before that date. Caterers and other service providers would be wise to demand up front payment for services rendered – or they might end up on the short end of the stick like those owed money by Team Hillary. Municipalities, on the other hand, have to deal with issues more important than the size of the next big media buy.

Secondly, Obama’s belittling of Palin’s tenure as a small town mayor will probably backfire. The liberal legend House Speaker Tip O’Neill made famous the undeniable political truth that “all politics is local”. To be blunt, local politics is all most Americans ever really deal with. Mayors, city council members, county supervisors and other local politicians are where the rubber meets the road. They fill the potholes, ensure the trash is collected, and deal with local zoning issues in addition to other mind numbing details that make the local municipality run. Effectively managing a city – even a small one – is much harder than it looks on paper and far more difficult than anything Obama has ever attempted.

And thirdly, Obama’s answer to Cooper’s question simply – and obviously – skips over Palin’s tenure as governor of the great state of Alaska. As NRO’s Byron York noted, Alaska has 15,000 employees and an operating budget of $11.2 billion. I’m not much of a numbers guy, but those figures dwarf anything Obama has ever held executive responsibility for. As far as I know, the last executive position Obama had was editor of the Harvard Law Review. Forgive me if I remain unimpressed.

And finally, in the spirit of “Now its time for something completely different“, I direct your attention to Maureen Dowd of the New York Times Op-Ed page. Some time ago, the Times put their Op-Ed page behind a subscription wall – thus sparing the majority of the news reading public from having to endure the likes of Ms. Dowd. Having failed to garner enough subscription revenue to pay for a two-block cab ride the Times took down the wall and let Dowd out again.

Well, now her nose has become firmly out of joint over the Palin selection, and she has resorted to prose that – were it a man making the same statements about a woman – would get her remanded to the Op-Ed pages of the Weekly World News. Dowd has declared Palin to be the “Trophy Vice” and “Vice in Go-Go Boots“.

Why, Ms Dowd, I do believe you are jealous! Then again, perhaps your concern is not without cause. Sarah Palin could pull off the Go-Go boots ensemble. You? I’m not so sure about.

Comments

9 Comments

  1. Eric Puff on 03.09.2008 at 09:15 (Reply)

    When Obama made that statement, he exposed an attitude so prevalent among politicians:
    Between running FOR office and running THE office, the former is the greater.

  2. kristen on 03.09.2008 at 10:26 (Reply)

    Well, I have no doubt that Palin could kick Dowd’s butt in a chic fight.

    It’s just like the Dems talking up Obama’s foreign policy experience. Sorry, but one trip doesn’t cover it. Sheesh, just send Sarah to the Middle East and she’ll be equal in that area, dare I say more experienced. Being an elective executive, Palin has dealt with running a city and a state, which is vastly more complex than running a law review or taking up space in the Senate.

  3. Don on 03.09.2008 at 10:36 (Reply)

    If experience was the deciding factor then what happen with BUSH? Whom I sure you voted for too. Why is it that even as far as the war goes This administration is finally doing the things Senator Obama has suggested much earlier and these things seem to be working? This is known as good judgment. Why is it that people of any race, who are middle income earners or below can’t see the way this administration has robbed their bank accounts and life savings or that the national deficit is directly tied to the war. Which was nothing more than a lie to fatten the pockets of the big cats, and I was always taught that 2 wrongs do not make a right. The brain washing in this country is unforgivable because these are the things that should concern you not what party you are affiliated with. Where is the common since???

    1. Cordeiro on 03.09.2008 at 11:08 (Reply)

      Decaf, Don. Decaf. Also, you might want to steer clear of the Daily Kos for a few days. Then come back and we’ll have a discussion minus the baseless Bush Derangement Syndrome accusations.

    2. Gary Russell on 03.09.2008 at 12:12 (Reply)

      ” Where is the common since ”

      Since when?

  4. David Kaiser on 03.09.2008 at 11:25 (Reply)

    I guess there is an argument to be made for this, but I still don’t think it is nearly as important as it’s being played by both campaigns and the media.

    Dubbya had supposed experience, but I think he had poor judgment, bad advice or a combination of both.

    I pause when I think about a McCain administration getting advice from the same folks who advised the current administration.

  5. Alaina Segovia on 03.09.2008 at 11:42 (Reply)

    Obama’s not even running the campaign… that’s what the Campaign Manager does. He just has to show up and read the telepromter and decide which poster is prettier.

    Besides that, Obama’s other “exerience” in the Illinois Senate and the US Senate hardly counts since he’s spent most of it campaigning and when he does actually show up, he just votes “Present” anyway.

    Palin may not have years and years of experience, but she’s been incredibly successful at both the local and state level and that should count for a lot more that Obama’s campaign “experience”.

  6. J on 03.09.2008 at 19:44 (Reply)

    This is a lose for Obama. He just should just defend his experience and respect Palin’s. The truth is that there is only one job you can run for that gives you that vital executive and foreign policy experience, and that is the office that Obama and McCain are currently running for.

  7. Mbaesq on 04.09.2008 at 16:50 (Reply)

    “Why, Ms Dowd, I do believe you are jealous!”

    Very true…though not for the ability to make an ensemble work. As a journo (even a high paying one), at best Ms. Dowd is an influential referee. A passionate spectator who believes they can influence the game if they chant hard enough for the home team.

    But deep down, I suspect that she knows that the chant isn’t the same as actually swinging for the stands or running the bases. And commentary isn’t in the same league as actually legislating or running something larger than a word processor.

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