While there is not unanimity as to what types of experience should be considered necessary for a presidential candidate to possess, there is a general consensus that the following four categories are relevant. They are:
- White House (Vice-Presidential and Presidential) experience
- Gubernatorial (Governor) experience
- Congressional (US House and US Senate) experience
- Military experience
Other kinds of experience (owner/manager of a business/corporation, secretary of a Cabinet-level office, mayor, state legislator, diplomat, attorney, judge, etc.) can be helpful to a candidate for the presidency, but are not by themselves usually considered qualifying experience. (Just ask Steve Forbes, Alan Keyes, Rudy Giuliani, or Elizabeth Dole, to name but a few recent examples.)
So. What follows is an objective list of the relevant, qualifying experience each major-party presidential nominee had under his belt at the time of the presidential election, dating back to 1944. (Note: Some rounding had to be used for partial terms in office. Any errors, computational or otherwise, are my own, and are unintentional.).....
George W. Bush
White House Experience (Vice-President + President) 4 (President of the United States)
Gubernatorial Experience 6 (Governor of Texas)
Congressional Experience (House + Senate) - 0
Military Experience 5 (Texas Air National Guard; Alabama Air National Guard [1968-73])
*Total Experience 15 years
John F. Kerry
White House Experience (Vice-President + President) - 0
Gubernatorial Experience 0
Congressional Experience (House + Senate) 20 (United States Senate - Massachusetts)
Military Experience 12 (United States Naval Reserve [1966-78])
*Total Experience 32 years
2000
George W. Bush
White House Experience (Vice-President + President) - 0
Gubernatorial Experience - 6 (Governor of Texas)
Congressional Experience (House + Senate) - 0
Military Experience - 5 (Texas Air National Guard; Alabama Air National Guard [1968-73])
*Total Experience 11 years
Al Gore
White House Experience (Vice-President + President) 8 (Vice-President of the United States)
Gubernatorial Experience - 0
Congressional Experience (House + Senate) 16 (House of Representatives Tennessee; United States Senate Tennessee)
Military Experience 2 (United States Army [1969-71])
*Total Experience 26 years
1996
Bill J. Clinton
White House Experience (Vice-President + President) 4 (President of the United States)
Gubernatorial Experience 12 (Governor of Arkansas)
Congressional Experience (House + Senate) - 0
Military Experience - 0
*Total Experience 16 years
....(The List goes back to 1944)
2008
John S. McCain
White House Experience (Vice-President + President) - 0
Gubernatorial Experience - 0
Congressional Experience (House + Senate) - 26 (House of Representatives - Arizona; United States Senate - Arizona)
Military Experience - 23 (United States Navy [1958-1981])
*Total Experience - 49 years
Barack H. Obama
White House Experience (Vice-President + President) - 0
Gubernatorial Experience - 0
Congressional Experience (House + Senate) 4 (United States Senate Illinois)
Military Experience - 0
*Total Experience 4 years
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