To Whom Shall We Entrust the Government?

People who argue that it's okay that McCain become president often like to argue that Barack Obama isn't experienced enough to be president. In fact, if Obama becomes president, he will be the same age as Grover Cleveland was and older than Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Ulysses S. Grant. His experience in elected office is greater than even Abraham Lincoln's, who admittedly is a special historical case. But all of this is hard to measure and hard to assess, because we really need to see a guy in office to make historical judgments. Let us put this aspect of the issue aside to make an argument about experience that is easy to assess.

I believe there is much more to this experience issue than meets the eye. When a president enters office, he brings him with an entire government.

Who are the experienced Democrats that Barack Obama will bring with him into office? They are the people who served Bill Clinton; they are people open to gay rights, women rights, and other progressive values.

Who are the experienced Republicans that John McCain will bring with him into office? They are the people who served George Bush. I don't need to tell you about their values.

There is a wider analysis about experience than just the experience of two men. It's an analysis of the values and experiences of the government each man will bring to the office. The choice between Barack Obama and John McCain is a choice of a government by Bill Clinton advisers and George Bush advisers. To you who imagine you can allow John McCain to president based on McCain's years of experience, I would commend to you a wider perspective on the experience issue.