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Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Bill Steigerwald :: Townhall.com Columnist
Executive Experience is a Joke
by Bill Steigerwald
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Good thing George Stephanopoulos wasn't a Sunday morning TV pundit in 1912.

That was the year an egghead named Woodrow Wilson won the Democrats' nomination for president -- on the 46th ballot -- and chose Thomas Marshall as his vice president.

Based on his agitated reaction on his Aug. 31 show to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin being picked as John McCain's VP, Stephanopoulos would have had a stroke over the combined executive inexperience of the Wilson-Marshall tandem.

And what qualified Wilson to become president of a far simpler, humbler America? Besides writing books pushing Big Government Progressivism and running Princeton University for eight years, that is? How about two years, one month and two weeks as governor of New Jersey?

Period.

Wilson's veep actually had more executive experience than Wilson. Tom Marshall had been governor of Indiana for more than three years, having been elected in 1908 as a dark-horse compromise candidate.

And what else had qualified Marshall to be placed a mere heartbeat or stroke away from the presidency for eight years? Nothing -unless you count being "a popular speaker" and "competent small-town lawyer" in Columbia City, Ind. (current pop. 7,000). Stephanopoulos is a devout Democrat, so he wouldn't have noticed Wilson's and Marshall's shallow leadership credentials -- which still surpass Barack Obama's and are almost the equal of Gov. Palin's career executive experience.

But let's get real. This whole debate over experience is foolish. Wilson did turn out to be one of our worst presidents ever, in terms of the long-term damage he did to America and the Western Europe. But no rookie president or rookie VP - no matter how supposedly experienced they are -- is really ever ready to do his job.

And as for Gov. Palin, she's Maggie Thatcher compared to many recent No. 2 choices -- most of whom have become political trivia questions.

Even staunch conservatives can't remember Bill Miller, Barry Goldwater's running mate in 1964 and a former seven-term congressman from near Buffalo. Continued...
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About The Author
Bill Steigerwald, born and raised in Pittsburgh, is a former L.A. Times copy editor and free-lancer who also worked as a docudrama researcher for CBS-TV in Hollywood before becoming a reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and a columnist Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Bill Steigerwald recently retired from daily newspaper journalism..
 
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Reply # 1
Date: Sep 12, 2008 - 11:35 AM EST
Who Would You Trust With Nat'l Security?
Commander in Chief Already
Subject: Governor Palin, Commander in Chief
Who Would You Trust With National Security? Obama, Marxist Community Agitator or Governor Sarah Palin, Commander in Chief Already?

Subject: Sarah Palin's Experience and Quals.....
SARAH PALIN'S SECURITY CLEARANCE

Before you dismiss the fact that Sarah Palin is Commander of the
Alaska National Guard, consider this:

Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor
defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska
National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from
ballistic missile attacks. It's on permanent active duty, unlike
other Guard units.

As governor of Alaska , Palin is briefed on highly classified
military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism. Her
exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's and
certainly by far exceeds Obama's.

She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense
Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into
Homeland Security's counterterrorism plans.

Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to
the entire country's defense. Given Alaska 's proximity to Russia ,
she may have security clearances we don't even know about.
According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in
February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to
keeping secrets.

She can be entrusted with our national security, because she
already is. . . . her experience in keeping the homeland safe fits perfectly with her image as the competent American woman.

And she Believes in the 2nd Amendment, and knows how to use a gun. What a change from the metro sexuals who run DC and our Government.

Compare her Experience and Resume with the Messiah Obama's???

Governor Palin, Commander in Chief Already, wins hands down.

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Reply # 2
Date: Sep 12, 2008 - 12:00 AM EST
What Putin Knows
What Putin Knows is that every and any nuclear sub captain has the ability to destroy every city in Russia over 200 thousand population. They can fire their weapons if need be without any magic codes or signals from Washington. Those weapons can be on target from the Arctic Ocean in approximately 15-20 minutes. The standard payload is 12 - 20 times the Hiroshoma bomb. Bombs many times more powerful have been built and tested, but they just dig a bigger crater.
We may get to see a few leftists ask SP who the ruler of West Dunghill ( concentrating on countries the know that Joe Biden has visited)is and she may falter, but that is in fact useless knowledge for a president. That is what you have a state dept for. A president needs judgement and trustworthy morality and the ability to avoid panic in pressure situations. When given plenty of time to think and decide, which is the more typical situation such as judicial appointments one need to have the right values upon which to guide decisions and the courage to stick to those values even under fire by the press and public.
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