Posted by
Publius North on Saturday, September 06, 2008 2:40:25 PM
For good or bad, there does not seem to be much writing and opining on “the experience factor” as it applies to Senators John McCain and Joe Biden. Instead, nearly all the “experience” discussion and punditry is focused on the resumes of Senator Barak Obama and Governor Sarah Palin.
As George Will recently wrote, Senator Obama is indisputably the least experienced candidate for the office of president in over 75 years.
Candor requires one to acknowledge that neither the Democratic nominee for the Presidency nor the GOP nominee for the Vice-Presidency has the same degree or breadth of governing and leadership experience as their respective running mate. On the one hand one may question the wisdom and judgment of the Democrat Party for its selection of Senator Obama and on the other hand Senator McCain’s decision may be criticized.
While this writer is persuaded that the office of a small town mayor generates more relevant executive experience than that of a “community organizer” (still not clearly defined) in a big city; and that two years as governor of the state of Alaska is more demanding and educational than two years in the U.S. Senate (where one demonstrated the ability to genuflect without reflection at every proposed liberal bill), nevertheless, one supposes there should be a way to test the relative skill and mettle of the two candidates.
This is especially so as many citizens are pondering the experience question in the following manner:
What if Senator Obama is elected; and what if President McCain dies in office?
It seems one way to address the above question would be to conduct a series of debates on a range of issues between Senator Obama and Governor Palin. Given the formidable speaking abilities of each, which may obscure an intellectual shallowness below the surface, joint discussions between these two candidates might produce more insights for thinking voters than the usually sterile and uninformative “debates” between the presidential candidates.
Since the junior Senator from Illinois has avoided serious debate forums proposed by his GOP rival, perhaps the real debate, the necessary debate is yet to be proposed.
It is the debate I’d like to see.