John McCain's experience has never and will likely never be brought into question. His experiences as a Navy Commander indicate he can lead, make tough, life-altering decisions, and that he can stand up for himself. Plus, his reputation as a maverick in Congress was honed by his experience in the military, which leads people to agree that he will not change and that he has a very strong sense of who he is.
But, I'm not so sure Senator Biden is above the fray.
Joe Biden became a senator from the tiny state of Delaware in 1972 at the ripe age of 29. He said he was "...just out of law school" when he was elected. Since then, he has led a relatively distinguished senatorial career serving as the chairman of the Judiciary Committee for a time during the 1980s and sitting on the Foreign Relations Committee.
That is all good and fine, but anyone who knows anything about the DC-Beltway knows that it isn't the real world. True, Senator Biden does live in his home in Delaware and proudly takes the train home every night. But, that's only an hour-long ride and Delaware is now considered a suburb of Washington, DC. (Yes, the entire state is a suburb of DC.)
Has the senator any real-world experience as an attorney in private practice, trying to make ends meet as a small business owner? No, he is a career politician - a moniker that is not well-received by those outside of the the Beltway. Is he prepared to lead this country, if necessary? He certainly knows a lot of people in important positions. He has spent his career in government as a high-ranking elected official. But, does he know you and me? Does he know what we go through? That's something to consider...
2 comments:
Running mate Joe Biden is actually a swinging factor in the race for president in my eyes. While his general knowledge of the “Real World” is limited, he is a face and name to be recognized, and that will potentially compliment Obama quite nicely. He was in fact 31 when being elected to the US Senate, and as such knows what it is like to be a young man in an old man’s profession; he can help steer Obama away from potential pitfalls.
Beyond the noticeable feet of being the fifth youngest senator in history, he also has the privilege of being the sixth longest member among the current senators. He has stature, ideals, and inevitably knows how to win the people, and keep the eye of his peers.
He has also thought about the executive branch of the government in the past, running for the democratic nomination both in 1988, and in this recent campaign of 2008. This not only gives the impression that he has set goals in mind, and has an idea of how to carry them out, but also provides reassurance of this fact.
Lastly, I find some satisfaction that he is a carrier politician, as this provides much feedback on issues of diplomacy, which at the moment seems to be a major issue of the US. It seems that countries who normally would not take a stance in either direction on what we, as a country, do are now making note of our current president’s aggressive tactics.
It's funny- I didn't know much about Joe Biden before Barack Obama picked him to be his running mate (and, to be fair, I still don't), but watching him last night during class talking about how he goes about the process of confirming Supreme Court justices. I was really impressed by his measured and thoughtful way of reading decisions each judge had made and refusing to peg nominees for the President. I thought he was really rational and showed a lot of wisdom as he talked.
I might also be in the minority here, but it seems like the only person that has true "experience" for the job of President is someone who has actually *been* President. No one puts all the pieces together until then, so I think it's a hard call to flat out say any one person is more "experienced" than another. I suppose someone could be undoubtedly inexperienced if they had never spent a day in public office, perhaps, but I think it becomes a way for each side to try to discount the other when no one really has everything they need at day one.
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