Does Obama Have the Experience to be President?

[Rohirrim]

I'm curious what the Maners think. Obama is picking up major momentum. The press is unabashedly on board the Obamatrain. Oprah is out there. Lots of movie stars. De Niro opened for him in NJ this morning. This guy could actually end up being our next president. Does he have the chops? Does he have the gravitas? Is he our QB of the future? :wiggle:

[Rohirrim]

I vote no.

[enjolras]

For me he does.

I'm not sure what 'experience' really is. Are you experienced if you've been in Washington for a decade dealing with lobbyists, striking deals, and otherwise becoming a washington-insider?

For me aptitude is MUCH more important, and I do think the guy has what it takes. He's a well reasoned intellectual with an almost addictive optimists streak. He's shown clear leadership qualities.

I really think he'd be great for this country.

[Bronco Bob]

Being a good talker doesn't translate into being a good president.
People liken Obama to JFK, but at least JFK was a miltiary officer
and led men into battle. Just what has Obama done to show
any leadership abilities?

[Spider]

Sure he does ...... I am not voting for him , but I dont have a problem with his experience

[TailgateNut]

I'm curious what the Maners think. Obama is picking up major momentum. The press is unabashedly on board the Obamatrain. Oprah is out there. Lots of movie stars. De Niro opened for him in NJ this morning. This guy could actually end up being our next president. Does he have the chops? Does he have the gravitas? Is he our QB of the future? :wiggle:


I think he has "what it takes" to be president at this particular time. I think we as a nation need to work together on the issues which affect our nation, not do as we have the past 7 years. I believe he will in fact represent us in lieu of disregarding the wants and will of the people as we've had to endure with Bush.
I also believ that any shortcomings in experience can be addressed with a core group of experienced advisors. I believe the reason he is making progress is that the people who support him believe he will listen whereas they believe Billary has her mind made up regardless of what the public wants our next president to accomplish. She and McCain should shake hands when the pass each other as they cross party lines.:wiggle:

[frerottenextelway]

Being a good talker doesn't translate into being a good president.
People liken Obama to JFK, but at least JFK was a miltiary officer
and led men into battle. Just what has Obama done to show
any leadership abilities?

A good talker doesn't make a good President, but there has never been a good President who wasn't a good talker. Communication isn't the only thing, but it's a pretty big deal.

[Meck77]

No

[TailgateNut]

No

That's all you have?

Btw: you haven't responded to the Edwards thread. Still waiting.

...and while I'm at it does RP have what it takes? ...not that he'll ever sniff the nomination, just asking why you think he could manage the country.

[Rohirrim]

For me he does.

I'm not sure what 'experience' really is. Are you experienced if you've been in Washington for a decade dealing with lobbyists, striking deals, and otherwise becoming a washington-insider?

For me aptitude is MUCH more important, and I do think the guy has what it takes. He's a well reasoned intellectual with an almost addictive optimists streak. He's shown clear leadership qualities.

I really think he'd be great for this country.

Given that the USA/Today poll has Clinton and Obama virtually tied, perceptions of what experience means will probably be the issue that decides the Dem candidate.

In some ways, I feel like I'm missing the boat. I keep seeing all these people getting so excited about Obama, comparing him to JFK and RFK, but I'm just not experiencing it. I was there for RFK. I saw him speak the day before he was shot, and I just don't see the similarity. I don't know whether I'm just jaded or because Obama doesn't really have "it." My impression is that Obama has become a receptacle for a whole bunch of wishful thinking.

[TailgateNut]

whole bunch of wishful thinking.

That's how I see RP supporters!

[Rohirrim]

That's all you have?

Btw: you haven't responded to the Edwards thread. Still waiting.

...and while I'm at it does RP have what it takes? ...not that he'll ever sniff the nomination, just asking why you think he could manage the country.

I think RP could pull it off. He's got tons of life experience, besides twenty years in the capitol fighting off special interests and his own party bigwigs, he's been a practicing MD for longer than that. Remember, people thought Harry Truman would be a complete flop in the presidency and were horrified at the idea he would get in there after FDR died. Of course, he simply stuck to his principles and it carried him through. I certainly don't agree with everything Harry did (ie, Korea, CIA, NSA, etc.) but he certainly did better than expected.

[TailgateNut]

I think RP could pull it off. He's got tons of life experience, besides twenty years in the capitol fighting off special interests and his own party bigwigs, he's been a practicing MD for longer than that. Remember, people thought Harry Truman would be a complete flop in the presidency and were horrified at the idea he would get in there after FDR died. Of course, he simply stuck to his principles and it carried him through. I certainly don't agree with everything Harry did (ie, Korea, CIA, NSA, etc.) but he certainly did better than expected.


Thanks for your reply, but my post was "aimed" at Mecks' ( Mr noun, verb, EMINENT DOMAIN ) thoughtful reply.

[alkemical]

Per Constitutional Accordances, Obama would have enough experience to run the country. For what is actually REQUIRED of the Executive Branch to do today, he only has the drive for the prestige of office.

[Denver Crush]

I am a Ron Paul backer, but I'm also a registered Dem so I cant do anything else but give money. I have been torn between Paul and Obama for a few reasons, but most notable is the electability factor. I just do not think that we as a nation would be fully accepting of any of Ron's plans and actually put them into action by electing him. Because of this, I will be caucusing for Obama. He is my "second best" choice at this point.

Experience....I don't think that there is anything that can prepare one for being the leader of arguably the most powerful nation on Earth. No matter what anyone says, I think there is a lot of OJT for everyone who has been elected. He has been a leader in his state and in the senate, and his ideas mesh well with what I believe in. I dont really like his or any of the other dems immigration plan of legalization and drivers licenses but other than that, he has my vote.

Now, that being said, if Ron Paul runs independent, I'm voting for him.

[Rohirrim]

That's how I see RP supporters!

I'm not fooling myself. I know he doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell. But I want the ideas to get incorporated into the mainstream. Yesterday, I was watching a panel of Russert, Joe Klein, EJ Dionne and Tucker discussing our times and one of the points Tucker Carlson brought up was that the American people have not engaged in a discussion of what should be the basic tenets of our foreign policy.

If you ever watched Star Trek, they operated under something called the Prime Directive. Basically, it was this: As the right of each sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Star Fleet personnel may interfere with the healthy development of alien life and culture. That was part of the appeal of this show, fiction inspiring life. Living by a principle.

What is our principle of foreign policy? Washington and Jefferson told us that our main concept should be "Avoid foreign entanglements." Ron Paul's concept is that we should not isolate ourselves, but we should also not entangle ourselves in the affairs of others. More here: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/war-and-foreign-policy/

I would like to think that we could incorporate something like our own foreign policy Prime Directive into the Constitution so that every new president is not given the prerogative to change it at will. Of course, we have a strict formula in the Constitution for the U.S. to involve itself in war and we haven't followed that for fifty years. Actually, longer even than that. That's why I find Ron Paul's call that we return to the Constitution so appealing. I wish every candidate would take up that call.

[alkemical]

http://www.rense.com/general80/web.htm

WASHINGTON DC -- Barack Obama's top economics adviser is a member of the super-secret Skull & Bones society of Yale University, of which George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and John Kerry are also members, reliable sources confirmed tonight. Goolsbee is widely reported to have told Obama not to back a compulsory freeze on home mortgage foreclosures to help the struggling middle class in the current depression crisis, as demanded by former candidate John Edwards. Hillary Clinton has advocated a one-year voluntary freeze on foreclosures. Obama has offered counselors to comfort mortgage victims as they are dispossessed, citing the 'moral hazard' of protecting the public interest from Wall Street sharks.

By adding the infamous Skull & Bones secret society to his campaign roster, Obama, who bills himself as the candidate of change and hope, has attained a prefect trifecta of oligarchical and financier establishment backing for his attempt to seize the nomination of the Democratic Party for 2008. Obama's main overall image adviser and foreign policy adviser is Zbigniew Brzezinski, the co-founder of David Rockefeller's Trilateral Commission, and the mastermind of the disastrous Carter administration. Obama's wife Michelle is reputed to be closely linked to the Council on Foreign Relations. Behind the utopian platitudes dished up by the Illinois senator, the face of the Wall Street money elite comes into clearer and clearer focus.

[Denver Crush]

http://www.rense.com/general80/web.htm

WASHINGTON DC -- Barack Obama's top economics adviser is a member of the super-secret Skull & Bones society of Yale University, of which George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and John Kerry are also members, reliable sources confirmed tonight. Goolsbee is widely reported to have told Obama not to back a compulsory freeze on home mortgage foreclosures to help the struggling middle class in the current depression crisis, as demanded by former candidate John Edwards. Hillary Clinton has advocated a one-year voluntary freeze on foreclosures. Obama has offered counselors to comfort mortgage victims as they are dispossessed, citing the 'moral hazard' of protecting the public interest from Wall Street sharks.

By adding the infamous Skull & Bones secret society to his campaign roster, Obama, who bills himself as the candidate of change and hope, has attained a prefect trifecta of oligarchical and financier establishment backing for his attempt to seize the nomination of the Democratic Party for 2008. Obama's main overall image adviser and foreign policy adviser is Zbigniew Brzezinski, the co-founder of David Rockefeller's Trilateral Commission, and the mastermind of the disastrous Carter administration. Obama's wife Michelle is reputed to be closely linked to the Council on Foreign Relations. Behind the utopian platitudes dished up by the Illinois senator, the face of the Wall Street money elite comes into clearer and clearer focus.

This really makes the only good choice Ron Paul....all the other candidates all have ties to CFR, Tri Lateral Commission, and the Bilderburger conferences.

[baja]

http://www.rense.com/general80/web.htm

WASHINGTON DC -- Barack Obama's top economics adviser is a member of the super-secret Skull & Bones society of Yale University, of which George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and John Kerry are also members, reliable sources confirmed tonight. Goolsbee is widely reported to have told Obama not to back a compulsory freeze on home mortgage foreclosures to help the struggling middle class in the current depression crisis, as demanded by former candidate John Edwards. Hillary Clinton has advocated a one-year voluntary freeze on foreclosures. Obama has offered counselors to comfort mortgage victims as they are dispossessed, citing the 'moral hazard' of protecting the public interest from Wall Street sharks.

By adding the infamous Skull & Bones secret society to his campaign roster, Obama, who bills himself as the candidate of change and hope, has attained a prefect trifecta of oligarchical and financier establishment backing for his attempt to seize the nomination of the Democratic Party for 2008. Obama's main overall image adviser and foreign policy adviser is Zbigniew Brzezinski, the co-founder of David Rockefeller's Trilateral Commission, and the mastermind of the disastrous Carter administration. Obama's wife Michelle is reputed to be closely linked to the Council on Foreign Relations. Behind the utopian platitudes dished up by the Illinois senator, the face of the Wall Street money elite comes into clearer and clearer focus.

Obama is the Anti Christ..

[Bronco Bob]

That's how I see RP supporters!

Yeah, I sort of feel that way too. It isn't Obama and Ron Paul the person
they are latching onto, it's Obama and Ron Paul the idea they represent.