Clifford Orwin a well known Straussian and a Neoconservative who doesn't like being called a Neoconservative writes in the Globe and Mail today that Barack Obama will be elected with less experience than any American President in history. He's quite wrong of course, the most glaring example of a candidate with less experience when he was elected is the current occupant of the White House.
But George Bush was Governor of Texas, surely that counts as more experience than Senator Obama's extensive municipal, state and federal experience - not to mention his flawless campaign and impeccable ground game? Well no, the Governorship of Texas is an almost entirely ceremonial position - the real power in the Texas state system is the Lieutenant Governor. The Governor cuts ribbons at mall openings. The only real power Bush held in Texas was clemency for people on death row. He catered to his reactionary base by almost never using it. He even openly mocked the pleas of a woman who killed her abusive spouse and went to the chair on his watch.
Perhaps a believer in the Straussian noble lie just can't stand a politician who has based so much of his campaign on blunt honesty?
Friday, October 31, 2008
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2 comments:
When you speak about inexperienced Presidents you can't forget the man John McCain admires the most...Ronald Reagan.
He actually was the governor of a state where the governor has real power though.
People condemning Obama's lack of experince rely on drawing a line between legislative and executive experience. I would argue that in many ways legislative experience is more valuable - but by the campaign he's run from before the primaries to now, obama has clearly shown the skill and temperment you would want in an executive.
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