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I took the liberty of compiling the education, military, and political experience of every president and vice-president of the United States after World War II, when America has been a superpower. I did so to provide some context for Palin's credentials.

Palin: education: Hawaii Pacific (1 semester), North Idaho (2 semesters), University of Idaho (2 semesters), Matanuska-Susitna (1 semester), University of Idaho (journalism), military: none, politics: Wasilla city council (2 terms), mayor of Wasilla (2 terms), governor of Alaska (1 and one-half years)

Truman: education: no college degree, military: veteran WWI politics: county judge, US Senator, VP

Barkley: UVa law, military: none, politics: US Representative, US Senator, Senate majority leader

Eisenhower: education: Military Academy, graduated top half, military: Supreme Allied Commander Europe, WWII, politics: none.

Nixon: education: Whittier College, Duke law, military: lieutenant commander, US Navy, WWII, poltics: US Representative, US Senator, VP

Kennedy: education: Harvard, military: US Navy, WWII, Navy and Marine Corps Medal for "extremely heroic conduct," politics: US Senator

Johnson: education: Southwest Texas State Teachers' College, military: veteran WWII, poltiics: US Representative, US Senator, VP

Humphrey: education: University of Minnesota, MA Louisiana State University, professor of political science at Macalester College, military: none, politics: mayor of Minneapolis, 2 terms, US Senator

Agnew: education: Johns Hopkins, University of Baltimore law, military: US Army, Bronze Star, WWII, politics: Circuit Court Judge, Governor of Maryland (Nixon wanted to force him to resign as VP)

Ford: education: University of Michigan, " law, military: US Navy, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII, politics: US Representative, House Minority Leader, VP

Rockefeller: education: Darmouth, military: none, politics: Special Assistant to President Eisenhower for Foreign Affairs, National Security Council, undersecretary of Department of Health, governor of New York

Carter: education: Georgia Tech, Georgia Southwestern, Naval Academy (physics), military: veteran, US Navy, politics: Georgia state senator, governor of Georgia

Mondale: Macalester College, University of Minnesota (political science), " law, military: US Army veteran, politics: Minnesota attorney general, US Senator, VP

Reagan: education: Eureka Collge (economics), military: veteran, US Army, politics: governor of California (1967-75)

HW Bush: education: Yale (economics), military: US Navy, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal (3), Presidential Unit Citation, WWII, politics: US Representative, ambassador to the UN, envoy to China, Director of CIA, VP

Dan Quayle: education: DePauw (political science), Indiana University law, military: National Guard, politics: Indiana attorney general, US Representative (2 terms), US Senator (2 terms), VP (Quayle was considered by many to be underqualified)

Clinton: education: Georgetown, Fullbright Scholar, Rhodes Scholar, Oxford, Yale, military: none, politics: Arkansas attorney general, governor of Arkansas (1977-79, 1983-92)

Gore: education: Harvard, Vanderbilt Divinity, " law (did not graduate), military: US Army, Vietnam, politics: US Representative (1976-84), US Senator (1984-93), VP

W Bush: education: Yale (history), Harvard (MBA), military: Texas Air National Guard, politics: governor of Texas (2 terms)

Cheney: University of Wyoming (political science, BA, MA), doctoral studies University of Wisconsin-Madison (unfinished), military: none, politics: Assistant to the president, White House Chief of Staff, US Representative (1978-89)

My conclusions: if John McCain should win, Sarah Palin will be one of the least experienced VPs in the White House post-WWII, when the US emerged as a great superpower. If McCain should die soon after taking office, she will be the least experienced person to become president since WWII. Frankly, I find that prospect frightening.

I agree with you from an experience standpoint, but I think that you are unfairly portraying her education. She did receive her BA in Journalism. You confuse that when listing all of the schools she attended. It's true that she does not have a graduate degree, but neither did Reagan.

I also don't think that serving in the military needs to be a prerequisite to be an effective Commander in Chief as long as you have a solid global vision and you have the judgment to surround yourself with people who can advise you well. Her lack of military service should not necessarily be an issue.

That being said, I think that strictly from an experience standpoint, Romney would have made a lot more sense, given both his experience as a governor, and his economic background.

liz,

Reagan had two terms as governor of one of the largest and most populated states in the US. He is a man who participated in politics on a national level years before he was nominated. There is no way that Palin's experience comes anywhere close to Reagan's. One can pick and choose among the post-WWII former presidents and veeps to find people who had equal or less experience/education than Palin in one or two areas, but were you to carefully go through the biographies of these people, you would find without exception that all of them had more overall experience/education than Palin. Her career is the worst sort of fluke I could imagine, and it could have cataclysmic consequences. I am not saying it will, but it very well could, and I am astounded that people are so unconcerned that she is laughably unprepared for the highest office in the land when she could conceivably fill it before a year has passed.

T

Hey Trevor

No doubt that Palin lacks some experience.

Funny though. How about you put Obama up against the resumes you provide.

Conclusion would be: No doubt if he wins he will be the president with the least experience coming into office since WWII. Palin has as much if not more experience than Obama.

Jason Bourne wrote:Hey Trevor

No doubt that Palin lacks some experience.

Funny though. How about you put Obama up against the resumes you provide.

Conclusion would be: No doubt if he wins he will be the president with the least experience coming into office since WWII. Palin has as much if not more experience than Obama.

I agree, Jason. No doubt that he lacks experience. The man should have waited to run for president, no doubt. In the end, though, I was so disturbed by the fact that, given a choice, McCain went with Palin, with what appears to have been minimal vetting, that I have to conclude that he is even scarier than Obama.

Here is my calculus. We have spent 8 years with one of the worst presidents in post-WWII history, but he was propped up by some experienced and highly intelligent people. I disagree with the neo-con worldview, but there you have it. We got by by the skin of our teeth, because there were enough competent people to prop up little George at the right times.

Obama seems to me to be less experienced than George, but possessing more native intelligence. With a good team, we might not suffer badly. I do hope that he does not live up to his brainless promise to set a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq, but maybe I am wrong to think that is bad. Anyone who is afraid of how liberal he is should remember that Hillary was trying to claim he was not liberal enough on the economy and healthcare.

McCain could die next January. We would be left with someone in the White House who is almost completely clueless about national and international issues, and who has shown no great capacity for acquiring the chops. Where in the hell will we be then? Who is going to run the show? I think the prospects are genuinely frightening. What if she is actually stupid enough to think that she does know what she is doing, contrary to all evidence? I mean, she was daft enough to accept McCain's insane offer.

So yes, Obama is underqualified. I see more reason to hope that he might have been given the time. I have almost no way of knowing with Palin. Her small time in the Alaska governorship does little to help me overlook a resume lacking almost all serious distinction, educational or otherwise.

Trevor

Fair enough. Actually while I think Palin seems like a wonderful person I am one who is typically republican who was and is not impressed with the choice. I said what the hell when I first heard and told my wife that night I could not vote for McCain. In one fell swoop he undermined his strongest argument against Obama-experience. I had to wonder what he was thinking. Maybe Palin would be ready in two or three more years as governor. But if McCain wanted a woman on the ticket I am sure he could have found more experienced.

So yes I am with you. Obama seems pretty bright and with good advisors may do a decent job. Personally I am have become so disillusioned with the republicans as a result of Bush as well as six years of a republican controlled congress spent like drunken sailors and were part of letting the financial crisis we are in now escalate.

Jason Bourne wrote:So yes I am with you. Obama seems pretty bright and with good advisors may do a decent job. Personally I am have become so disillusioned with the republicans as a result of Bush as well as six years of a republican controlled congress spent like drunken sailors and were part of letting the financial crisis we are in now escalate.

Where did the fiscally responsible Republicans go? Where did real conservatism go? Sacrificed on the altars of neo-conservatism and the Religious Right.

Where did the fiscally responsible Republicans go? Where did real conservatism go? Sacrificed on the altars of neo-conservatism and the Religious Right.

Well said.

Trevor wrote:We got by by the skin of our teeth, because there were enough competent people to prop up little George at the right times.

"Got by?" You call this "getting by?"

Trevor wrote:Palin: education: Hawaii Pacific (1 semester), North Idaho (2 semesters), University of Idaho (2 semesters), Matanuska-Susitna (1 semester), University of Idaho (journalism), military: none, politics: Wasilla city council (2 terms), mayor of Wasilla (2 terms), governor of Alaska (1 and one-half years)

I'm not really sure why you're listing all of the different colleges she attended other than to make her seem flighty and unstable. She did her undergrad between the ages of 18 and 23. I don't think anyone cares that she decided to travel a bit as a young woman; some people would see it as a plus. I moved to Alaska as an infant and spent the first ten years of my life there, and I'm pretty sure that if I'd lived my entire childhood there, I'd have wanted to travel by the time I was an adult, too. As entertaining as it is to be kept from getting off your school bus because there's a moose at your stop, Alaska is pretty much boring as hell.

Also, it's incorrect to say that she has zero military experience. She's been the head of the Alaska National Guard since she became governor. I understand that's thin military experience, but there's a difference between thin and zero. Zero is what Barack Obama and Joe Biden have put together.

While I agree that Palin would be one of the least experienced Vice-Presidents if elected and one of the least experienced Presidents in the event something happens to McCain, it's hard to take that concern seriously from someone who is voting for Obama. Obama would be one of the least experienced Presidents ever, only he wouldn't have to wait for someone to die to do it. The Obama campaign has been maintaining for a long time that his lack of military and political and foreign policy experience aren't a big deal, that it's his wisdom and character that counts; see this article on his official web site, for example. Some of the relevant parts:

Barack Obama has the judgment and life experience to be commander in chief.

He's not self-centered, he's reasonable

In an election where military and foreign policy are central issues, Obama, like many presidential candidates, has no military experience. As a first-term U.S. senator, he also has little formal experience in foreign policy

Obama's life experience makes up for any deficit

He spent time overseas and grew up in Hawaii in a diverse culture with a lot of external influences

Retired Laconia voter Edwin Allard said that after hearing the general, he could see himself supporting Obama. "Who's had experience the last seven years? Rumsfeld and Cheney. Look how that turned out," Allard said. "What's important is judgment. Can you make the right calls?"

"We're getting to the point where fewer and fewer candidates have any real military experience," said Matthew Masur, assistant professor of history at St. Anselm College. "Even foreign policy experience - there have been presidents not going into office with much experience."

"Sometimes, people with a lot of experience don't do well. There are people without a lot of experience who do," Masur said.

Obama could be successful in promoting his world experience and judgment, rather than his political experience

Remind me to thank the Obama campaign for writing such a great argument on why Sarah Palin is an acceptable choice for VP.

To clarify: I have no problem with people voting for Barack Obama. There are a lot of good reasons to vote for him, and I'm not one of those people who is going to melt down and start crying on November 5th if my guy (girl?) loses. And I certainly wish that Palin had more time as governor on her resume.

But this one-heartbeat-away Sarah-Palin-lacks-experience excuse is paper thin. Besides, no matter what happens this election, Nancy Pelosi looks set to remain one plane crash away from the Presidency. That seems to scare the hell out of everyone left and right, and I don't see anyone trying to fix that.