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Suppose John McCain had selected Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal as his running mate. Would there be the same objections to his experience and job qualifications that are directed at Sarah Palin? Jindal, after all, is considerably younger and has even less gubernatorial experience than Mrs. Palin. Or suppose Barack Obama acted as many figured he would and asked one-term Virginia governor, Tim Kaine, to be his vice presidential candidate. Would there be the same outrage that someone with so little experience was only a heartbeat away from the presidency?

I certainly wouldn’t complain about these choices the way I’ve been killing the Palin pick. This ostensible double standard has little to do with the legitimate arguments about Jindal and Kaine being better known governors of moderate sized states too. Nor, hopefully, does it have anything to do with the overtly sexist sentiments underlying much of the Palin criticism. The reason I find Kaine and Jindal to be much better qualified candidates is that Tim Kaine is a Harvard Law graduate, Bobby Jindal is a Rhodes Scholar, and Sarah Palin has a not so comparable BA from the University of Idaho.

I don’t think it’s a big secret that president of the United States is an intellectually demanding position. Yet, innate intelligence and educational attainment are rarely considered relevant aspects of candidates’ resumes. So often, for instance, you hear Republicans claim that Sarah Palin has as much or more experience than Barack Obama. Just once I would like to hear the retort that his position as president of Harvard Law review and constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago probably prepare him a little better for the cognitive demands of the White House than her prior profession as a sportscaster.

You would never hear this, though. For Americans would unfortunately find such a truism to be intolerably elitist. It is indeed a sad indictment of the quality of our present political discourse that Barack Obama’s biographical convention video cannot draw attention to these qualifications for fear of the elite tag, but that “I was just your average Hockey Mom” is one of Sarah Palin’s biggest applause lines.

With all due respect to Hockey Moms, being an average Hockey Mom who joined the PTA does not qualify you to answer the proverbial 3AM phone. Nor does being a mother of five, a high school point guard, a moose hunter, or any of the other folksy aspects of her biography that the McCain Campaign loves to tout in order to demonstrate she’s just like us. I don’t want someone like me answering that phone. I want someone who has demonstrated that he or she possesses the intellectual ability and contextual knowledge to understand the complexities that such emergency calls inevitably entail. Bobby Jindal, Tim Kaine, and most certainly Barack Obama have demonstrated through their superior intellect and educational attainment that they have the background suited to comprehend such complexity.

Shouldn’t that be considered experience?

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Education plays a great role for our civilization development, but it seems like it degrades steadily. John from http://watchyearoneonline.com/.

Leslie Anderson says:

Yeah, Miho is exactly right. Each candidate plays a strange, specific role in which niche they represent. It's actually kind of interesting. I think we all know who's going to succeed though! (Obama!) - http://www.acnecaretruth.com/

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sarah palin says:

Sarah Palin is just plain not qualified. <a href="http://sarahpalindirt.com/sarah-palin-a-maverick-but-not-in-asking-a-guilty-ted-stevens-to-resign/sarah-palin-scandal/">Sarah palin </a> did not have the werewithall to denounce ted stevens after he was convicted of corruption.

Miho Reis says:

Unfortunately educational attainment does not drive the function of the United States elections. Money is the driving force here. It is fueling the campaign with air waves that elicits followers to their agenda, which excludes educated decisions all together. How much of this is fueled by capitalist interest? On top of that, how many faith based assertions by Sarah Palin have ignored the first amendment of separation of church and state? The McCain/Palin campaign rests on the ideal of character rather than qualification. I think they're welcoming the atmosphere of domesticity within the Palin discourse because it appeals to the role play of Man/Woman Nature/Nurture and that blankets over the whether Palin is qualified for executive decision. McCain will play the hard line war hero whilst Palin serves to represent a traditionally core American value that is garnering voters sympathetic to 'hockey moms'. Why isn't education a considered experience? Because you don't have to be intelligent to make money, buy the air waves, learn your lines, rally American voters and continue with political agenda.

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Why aren’t educational attainment and innate intelligence considered experience?

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cherry aja says:

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Jose says:

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John says:

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