Barack Obama - The Least Experienced Major-Party Presidential Candidate in 64 Years

[Elspeth]

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/07/11/231932.php

Good read

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

[megimoo]

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/07/11/231932.php

Good read

Just another pretty face with an empty head slipping and sliding from one side to the other !

[LibraryLady]

[Constitutionally Speaking]

If you start your experience at the time they begin their run for office instead of letting them carry out their full current term and counting that, Obama's experience would not even be one year.

[BEG]

HA HA that is great. :D

[Elspeth]

If you start your experience at the time they begin their run for office instead of letting them carry out their full current term and counting that, Obama's experience would not even be one year.

Exactly. He's an empty suit.