Leadership and experience
by
judy1
08/30/2008, 11:53 AM #
I believe you have to have both in order to have a successful administration, but I think it is important to get them in the right order.
Ideally, it would be great to have one who was both a great leader, and had a lot of experience, but in this election we don't.
I would rather have a real leader in the number one spot, one who "gets" what people want, and has the judgement to choose the right people within the administration to bring about the change that 80% of this country wants. It helps under this circumstance to have the experience at the number two spot.
Experience in the number two spot is appropriate, because if something should happen to the POTUS, you want someone who can step right in and fill those shoes. It is perhaps a more important factor when the president is older and in worse health, but also given the fact that we are going to elect an african american as president, there might be some crazies out there who may pose a threat, so it is equally important in that situation too.
Having experience in the number one slot is good, but if the race is about change, then your experience had better be that you can prove your experience will bring about change, and it had better not be the kind of experience that brought about all the troubles that we want changed. However, in that case, you also need to be able to convince people that you can be a leader. It will still, however, be important that your veep has experience and is qualified to step into the role of president, if needed.
Obama is a great leader. and if you look back on the history of this country, the greatest leaders were not necessarily the most experienced, but they did have a keen ability to connect with the country and were able to lead. I think of Lincoln, Kennedy, even Reagan in thiat respect.
For me, given the circumstances, I'd rather have a great leader who has clear vision of where he wants to bring the country, and can bring into the administration the right people to get it done,with somebody experienced and ready to step in if something should happen to him, than someone who really doesn't have a clear vision of where this country needs to be, who relies on the advice from a previously failed administration, and chooses as his veep someone who is not ready to step into the job, should it become necessary.
I think most people will see it this way.
