February 11, 2008
A Lie Repeated…And Repeated
One thing that has repeatedly shocked me throughout this campaign is that nobody has, at any point, tried to call Hillary Clinton out on her extravagant claims of “35 years of experience,” despite having spent only 7 years in elected or appointed office. Her political experience has not only been short, it’s consisted of failure after failure with no success.
In the 90s, Clinton was appointed to chair a committee to find a solution to the health care problem, which she now says she cares so deeply about (deeply about to say she won’t start changing it until 2013). She got nothing done…well, except getting a payroll from the same pharmaceuticals she now claims to despise. According to “Sicko” by Michael Moore, Clinton is paid off more by pharmaceuticals than any other Democrat, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. So her pre-senate career wasn’t much of a success in terms of getting stuff done.
In senate, Clinton has been a singularly average Democrat. She is #17 among Democrats in rate of legislation written this term, while Obama is in the top 5. On the flip-side, she has only voted against the Democratic consensus 14 times, only 5 senators have voted against the consensus less than her, suggesting a lack of healthy dissent.
The bottom line is that Clinton does not have a long or gaudy track record of experience. Here is the list of elected presidents with as little experience as her:
7) William Henry Harrison – won because he was a war hero
6) Zach Taylor – Again, won because he was a war hero
5) Ulysses Grant – War Hero
4) Grover Cleveland – Was only nominated because Tilden was in poor health. Had gubernatorial experience.
3) Benjamin Harrison – The closest comparison to Clinton, he spent 6 years in the senate and chaired a committee, just like Clinton. Also like Clinton, his last name was one of his biggest assets.
2) Woodrow Wilson – Has experience as governor, but for a short amount of time.
1) Dwight Eisenhower – War Hero
So of the 7 people with as little experience has her to be elected president, 4 were war heroes and two were governors. Clinton has been neither of those things. This article is not to say that Clinton isn’t qualified to be president, it’s just to point out that if the best thing you offer is experience, you should at least have an above average track record.
What’s Happened Thus Far?
Obama has won 20 states/territories, Clinton has won 11. Obama has a delegate lead estimated to be 70-75 while Clinton has a superdelegate lead estimated to be about 70. For the Republicans, McCain has all but sealed up the nomination, though Huckabee is still showing signs of life.
What’s Happening Soon?
Tomorrow Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. hold their primaries. Maryland and D.C. are mostly guaranteed to go to Obama, Virginia is contested, though Obama leads in the polls by 15-20%.
Fact Of The Day:
John F. Kennedy, despite being only 43 when he ran for president, already had 13 years of electoral experience.
What’s Being Spun?
The Obama campaign is trying to spin Maine as an upset. When a state’s governor is your campaign co-chair it’s hard to take people by surprise, and that’s the Muse.
Ask The Muse: Direct any questions or comments to themuse@albanyhighcougar.com and they will be answered promptly in this column.
