10-13-2008, 02:39 PM
Quote:Obama has the least amount of experience of any POTUS candidate ever.
Not quite. He's only not the lowest, he's probably not even in the bottom quintile. 7 years as a state senator, followed by 3 as a US senator, gives him 10 total years of legislative experience. That's longer than 14 elected presidents, counting only pure years served. Among candidates, I assume the ratios would be similar, although perhaps not. Now, there are some obvious gaps in that count (John Adams' relevant experience is hardly summarized by such a time count, for instance), but it does show that Obama is not exceptional.
And, in any case, it hardly seems to matter. Other factors having to do with personality, talent, and historical context seem to almost totally eclipse experience as a relevant factor in determining the success of a presidency.
http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2008/In...ience.html
-Jester