Dartblog

Just about the only criticism I have heard in the past 24 hours about the Republican candidate for Vice President Sarah Palin is that she does not have the experience to be president. The line goes, “is she ready to be just a heartbeat away from the presidency?” Is this really an argument that Democrats want to make?

Barack Obama is not ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency and he is running for president. He has almost no experience and he is certainly no Jack Kennedy.

As far as I can tell Palin does not have boatloads of experience either but 3 important things have been said about the experience she does have.

1. She has taken the state of Alaska in the right direction in terms of tax relief, energy policy, and other issues.

2. Her experience is executive, Governor of Alaska, a brand of experience perhaps more similar to duties required of the presidency (which of course she is not running for). E.g. of the past 5 presidents, 4 have been governors: W. Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter and 1 was the Vice President for 8 years: H.W. Bush. Barack Obama, who is running for president, has 0 executive experience.

3. The issues on which Palin specializes are perhaps the most important to voters in the recent election. Just to highlight one particular issue that has been getting a lot of attention, Palin is extremely knowledgeable about energy policy having managed the energy resources and exploration in a state at the forefront.