Anyone ever notice how most of the Republicans running for President do not hold current positions? They're unemployed! Does that mean anything? No! As George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan have proved, hard work is a vice. While they might not have jobs, while they might not have to vote or take stances on the pertinent issues in Congress or in their states, I can prove to you that each of them has been working tirelessly in the public service. And, just for clarification, by public service, you mean obvious self interest, right?
Will Obama's experience hurt in the general? It's been his achilles heel so far in the primary race, (though to some, it might be the reason they are voting for him). We've all known about Hillary forever, for me, since I was nine. John Edwards was once the next Vice President of the United States. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd are stalwarts of the Senate, and I haven't even mentioned the candidate with the most impressive resume, Bill Richardson. Compared to his opposition, perhaps Obama is inexperienced.
But will this matter in the general? Let's take a look at Obama's experience versus that of five Republicans. I am excluding Fred Thompson because, well, do you actually think Fred can win? And I'm throwing in Ron Paul for shits and giggles, and cause I still think he has a chance. I'll define experience in four ways - legislative, executive, political, and foreign policy. I will also pro-rate this up to election day 2008. Numbers signify years of experience.
Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Hillary Clinton have all released caucus training videos for the Iowa Caucuses. Obama has also released a Nevada Caucus training video. Each video has its strengths and weaknesses, and here I'm going to use my subjective rating system and rate each of the three videos in four categories, Creativity, New Media Savvy, Effectiveness and how informative is it. One video, in my opinion, stood out as being the best by far - read below to see which one it was.
More below the fold. All the videos can be watched at the very bottom of the diary.
By all accounts, we are a nation in turmoil. We continue to fight an never ending war in Iraq, the housing crisis continues to spread throughout the financial markets, and the economy teeters on the edge of recession. To the observer, these are the greatest issues facing America in 2008. Yet, if you listen to the Republicans debate, its as if these issues don't exist. Ignoring the obvious, they ramp up the rhetoric on an different issue, a new scapegoat for all the ills of society. A diversion from the last eight years of failure.
