Kristol says Sarah Palin's inexperience doesn't matter much, and he provides several examples from American history where seemingly relatively-inexperienced folks succeeded to the presidency.
But remember, Harry Truman had been a Senator for a decade before he was picked for VP. Plus, he had led troops in WWI.
Gerald Ford had been in the House of Representatives for 25 years and had been Senate Minority Leader for eight years.
LBJ had been in the House for 12 years, in the Senate for 11 years, and Senate Majority Leader for six years.
True enough, Calvin Coolidge had been Governor of Massachusetts for only two years when tapped as VP, but he had had a long career in the the state legislature, and as mayor of Northampton.
A genius with a photographic memory and prolific writer, Teddy Roosevelt had served six years with the U.S. Civil Service Commission, two years as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and two years as Governor of New York.
Palin's experience pales in comparison to all these folks.
Should voters be alarmed by a relatively young or inexperienced vice presidential candidate? No. Since 1900, five vice presidents have succeeded to the presidency during their term in office: Teddy Roosevelt in 1901, Calvin Coolidge in 1923, Harry Truman in 1945, Lyndon Johnson in 1963, and Gerald Ford in 1974.
Teddy Roosevelt took over at age 42, becoming our youngest president, and he's generally thought to have proved up to the job. Truman was V.P. for less than three months and had been kept in the dark by Franklin Roosevelt about such matters as the atom bomb — and he's generally thought to have risen to the occasion.
Character, judgment and the ability to learn seem to matter more to success as president than the number of years one's been in Washington.
No comments:
Post a Comment