Posted by
Wil on Saturday, August 30, 2008 12:09:42 PM
For the last several months, I have assumed that the experience a president brings relates directly to quality of their administration. Especially in the area of foreign policy, that experience leads to success. I decided to do a little research into this. Here is what I found when looking at Presidents resumes:
Presidential Experience since 1945:
Bush 2000-2008 54 when elected Education Yale and Harvard
Prior Experience 5 years Air National Guard, 23 Years Oil Industry Executive, 8 years Texas Rangers Executive, 5 years Governor of Texas
Totals: 5 years government, 32 years private sector, 5 years military
Clinton 1992-2000 46 when elected Education Georgetown, Oxford, and Yale
Prior Experience 3 years college professor, Universityof Arkansas, 4 years Arkansas Attorney General, 11 years Governor of Arkansas,
Total: 15 years government, 3 years private sector, no military
Bush 1988-1992 64 when elected Education Yale
Prior Experience 4 years Naval Aviator, 16 Years Oil Executive, 2 Years head of Texas Republican Party, 4 Years US House of Representatives, 2 Years UN Ambassador, 2 Years Special Liason to China, 2 Years head of National Republican Party, 2 Years CIA Director, 8 Years Vice President
Total: 18 years government, 20 years private sector, 4 years military
Reagan 1980-1988 69 when elected Education Eureka College
Prior Experience: 5 years sports broadcaster, 30 years actor, 5 years training officer, US Army (made training films), 7 Years President Screen Actors Guild, 8 Years Governor of California
Total: 8 years government, 35 years private sector, 5 years military
Carter 1976-1980 52 when elected Education Naval Academy, Georgia Tech
Prior Experience: 7 years Naval Submarine Officer, 9 years farmer, 4 years State Senator, 4 years Governor of Georgia
Total: 8 years government, 9 years private sector, 7 years military
Ford 1974-1976 61 when appointed Education Michigan, Yale
Prior Experience: 3 years Navy Navigator, 24 years House of Representatives (8 years minority leader), 1 year Vice President
Total: 25 years government, 3 years military
Nixon 1968-1974 55 when elected Education Whittier College, Duke
Prior Experience: 5 years Lawyer, 4 years Naval supply corp officer, 4 years US House of Representatives, 4 Years US Senate, 8 years Vice President, 8 years lawyer and author
Total: 16 years government, 13 years private sector, 4 years military
LBJ 1963-1968 55 when appointed Education Southwest Texas State
Prior Experience: 5 years teacher, 12 years US House of Representatives, 4 years Navy Reserves and Presidential Inspector (during the 12 years above), 12 years Senator, 3 years Vice President
Total: 27 years government, 5 years private sector, 4 years military
JFK 1960-1963 43 when elected Education Princeton, Harvard, and Stanford
Prior Experience: 3 years Navy torpedo boat commander, 6 years US House of Representatives, 8 years US Senate,
Total: 14 years government, 3 years military
Eisenhower 1952-1960 62 when elected Education West Point
Prior Experience: 37 years US Army, 2 years Supreme command of European Front, 3 years Army Chief of Staff, 5 years NATO commander
Total: 10 years government (military political assignments), 37 years military
Truman 1945-1952 61 when appointed Education No College Degree
Prior Experience: 5 years Railroad timekeeper, 11 years family farmer, 3 years WWI Battery Commander, 4 years store owner, 6 years county judge, 10 years senator, 4 months vice president
Total: 16 years government, 16 years private sector, 3 years military
So what does all of this mean? The decision to appoint Palin as Vice Presidential candidate for McCain caused me to look more closely at the issue of experience. All Presidents in the past 63 years have had a minimum of 5 years in government. (Bush had the least) All of these Presidents except Clinton have some military experience. Every President except LBJ and Ford had some experience as an executive of some sort, whether government, military, or private sector. The three most experienced "qualified" for the Presidency were Bush Sr, Ford, and LBJ. The least experienced were Bush Jr, Reagan and Carter. What I see is that my least favorite presidents fell on both extremes of the spectrum (Carter and LBJ) while my favorites (Reagan and Truman) were also at differing levels. Truman was in my opinion the best foreign policy president of the last 60 years, and he had no prior experience....it was instinctual.
What this little exploration into the past showed me is that on one issue, Obama is right. Experience matters, but the right kind of experience, and experience is no where near as important as judgement. Neither Obama nor McCain have been in a leadership or executive position in their lives. Neither has Biden. Palin has, though critics would say its on too small a scale to matter. On judgement, on decisions made, I can say without hesitation I much prefer McCain to Obama. I can say the same but more so when comparing Palin to Biden.