Experience: Will any presidential candidate be ready on Day One?

The person who BigTexxx, TJ and other like-minded people vote for will not be ready.

 

Okay the SNL stuff was weird

 

It wasn't just his policies but his appointments and how his Admin. was run. Even before 9/11 there were some serious problems starting to show with a bungled response to the Aries EP-3 incident, a confused (and uninformed) stem cell debate that alienated people on both sides of the debate and the only real policy goal he got accomplished was the tax cut through a Republican Congress and once he got that he lost control of the Senate when Jeffords switched sides.

I haven't made an argument on policy as if you've read my previous criticism of Obama I acknowledge that he and Clinton have miniscule policy differences. My concern is how well he would implement those policies or deal with a crisis.

 

I missed the debate but it sounds interesting. Its too bad we can't get R2K to make a torrent of the debate.

 

For the record, he also got No Child Left Behind through the house and senate by summer 2001. After summer 2001, he got everything he wanted.

Your attempts to compare Bush and Obama are extremely strained to begin with now they are reaching the point of silliness.

Obama built a great campaign from the ground up and upset the overwhelming favorite - I find no parallels between this and GW Bush talking to jesus about stem cells and then implementing whatever foolish policy the religious right asked him too. And if we're going to talk about rookie policy debacles and alienating people, please see the first version of Hilarycare.

Another red herring/talking point - why is Obama somehow less trustable in a crisis? No other candidate has ever been in a presidential crisis either. I suppose you could say Hilary has dealt with a cheating husband, and while McCain was a POW, neither of those two things is the same kind of crisis. Hell, McCain frequently loses his temper and flies off the handle when under pressure - I've seen him do it in person. At least the other two tend to keep their cool.

 

i love "meet the press" tim russert is unbiased, and he doesn't b.s.

 

I dominate your thoughts and control your emotions. I'm in your head

 

And screwed it up quite a bit.

You're right. GW Bush actually had more executive experience than Obama.

As I've said its true that Hillary had a big debacle with health care but again that goes to my point regarding lack of experience. My argument has been that Hillary has bounced back from it.

You don't think impeachment wasn't a crisis or Hillary Clinton's health care plan going down the tubes? The one thing that should be undeniable about Hillary Clinton is that she can bounce back from the crisis. Considering how many other people could deal with the kind of hits she's taken and public humiliation to still be in the position she is. The problem is that I have no idea how Obama will act in a crisis and neither do you.

 

She bounces back in that she is persistent. But she doesn't always learn from her mistakes, and correct them. She voted with Bush on the Iranian resolution, and made the same exact mistake again. Even though last night she said she wished she could take the Iraqi vote back.

Her words show someone who adapts and learns from mistakes, but not necessarily her actions.

 

A cakewalk few years as the least powerful governor in the nation due to the way the texas constitution is structured- you are saying this is a one-to-one parallel with the oval office? Considerig that in Texas it is generally accepted that the Lieutenant-Gov wields more power than the Gov, owing to his ability to control the legislative agenda, it is funny to hear you singing the praises of GWB's experience now. Maybe you should go back and change your vote.

This argument is silly - "she messed up before, and is a polarizing figure who has made tons of enemies! Therefore she is uniquely positioned to not do it again!" Sorry - but I don't think you need first-hand experience or even a Harvard Law degree to be able to learn such lessons And the argument that Obama hasn't been beaten down enough is disingenuous and smacks of sour grapes.

You really think that is comparable in form to the kind of crisis to which you were obviously alluding - cuban missile crisis, etc? You seem to be confusing the role of crisis managment with resiliency. If you think Obama is not resilient - have a look at his poll numbers vs. Clinton this time last year.

 

I don't know where you are getting I'm singing his praises, I've been criticizing him for being inexpeirienced and making a mess of things. If anything in this thread you're the one whos been arguing that he had accomplished a lot.

As far as executive experience though I will stand by that 6 years as even a weak governor is more executive experience than 8 years as a state senator.

Yet for all of the negativity heaped up on Hillary Clinton we still her coming back to win a Senate seat twice, manage to be productive even though the Republican and even some of the Democratic leadership had threatened to marginalize her, raise record amounts of money and be a serious contender for the presidency.

As I've frequently said I don't deny Obama has run an excellent campaign and have gone so far as to say he is a political phenomenon that said I've yet to see him truly tested. As far as him coming behind I will agree that Clinton didn't take him seriously enough but its not like Obama was a darkhorse. The seeds for an Obama run have been growing since 2004.

Bottom line is though we've seen Hillary face crisis and she's often come out of them politically stronger than before. We haven't seen Obama and I don't know what Obama will do in a crisis.