Does Barack Obama have the experience needed to succeed as President of the United States?

By all accounts, Barack Obama is a new-comer in politics and lacks any real experience in government.  Some say this makes him a bad candidate.  Most established politicians say this makes him unqualified.  Not surprisingly, the majority of Americans seem to have their own opinion on whether Barack Obama is qualified and capable of running the United States of America.

Yet, there are others, that feel differently but are still voting for Barack.  A die-hard democrat, grade school teacher that I talked to told me that she isn’t voting for Obama because he’s qualified or the right person to lead the country; she’s voting for Obama because she doesn’t want to see McCain/Palin in office and a yes vote for Obama is a no vote for McCain.

Interesting perspective to say the least, but looking at the records it begs the question of how many Americans are feeling the same way – as though neither candidate is outstanding, but the one they’ve picked is the lesser of two evils and ultimately who they’re going to vote for.  It’s definitely a sad day for America when voting Americans aren’t voting for who they want to see in office but against who they don’t.

Ranter

The Republican Party has taken it’s fair share of knocks lately, and I believe that the Senate’s longest-serving Republican, Senator Ted Stevens, is another example of why their future isn’t looking so bright.  Surprisingly (NOT!) he hails from Alaska, which begs the question what’s in the water up there in Alaska – which is also home to Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin.

Fond of saying “the only special interest I care about is Alaska,” Ted Stevens was convicted today on seven counts of lying about more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations he received from corrupt oil and field services contractor Bill Allen (founder of VECO, Corp.)  I guess he figures because his home is in Alaska, that was an improvement that everyone could appreciate.

I’m not sure if I’m writing this for informational content or humor, but since both the Associated Press and LA Times are making a big deal about it, I’ll throw it out for a laugh.  Apparently two men, Daniel Cowart (20) and Paul Schlesselman (18) of West Helena, Arkansas (yes, Arkansas) were charged in the US District Court in Nashville and charged with illegal possesion of a sawed-off shotgun (in Arkansas?), conspiracy to rob a gun store, and making threats against a major presidential candidate.  (I guess the charge is different if it’s not a major candidate?)

Without offending anyone, I’m kind of happy that Obama’s campaign declined to comment on this.  After reading Brian Waks being quoted as saying,

“Both individuals stated that they would dress in all white tuxedos and wear top hats during the assassination attempt,” Weaks said. “Both individuals further stated they knew they would and were willing to die during this attempt.”

I’m still sort of chuckling.  You don’t think this would have been a little odd in any place other than Arkansas?  I hear that they’re questioning Elmo for his role in this plot, too.  Does George W Bush have an alibi here?  Come on guys, you can do better than this, right?

Ranter

Bonus credit to those that get the reference to “yewts.”

We’ve all seen Biden make some mistakes – heck he even admitted them to Jay Leno and said that he would make more, but the comparison to JFK and statement that Obama would be challenged within six months carried mixed messages the minute the words were uttered. A recent McCain ad took advantage of that gaff and will soon be running in 14 battleground states.

“Listen to Joe Biden, talking about what electing Barack Obama will mean,” the ad begins before introducing Biden’s words: “Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama. … The world is looking. … We’re going to have an international crisis … to test the mettle of this guy. … I guarantee you it’s going to happen.”

The ad concludes, “It doesn’t have to happen. Vote McCain.”

Makes me wonder – will Biden become Obama’s Palin?  With statements like this it’s certainly not opening opportunities and presenting the best light for Obama.