Experience is a fascinating and central question for voters to grapple with in this year's election. As an Obama supporter, I have a viewpoint on experience that many seem to share. I think it's just sort of common sensical. All things in moderation. Too much of something is often a problem. Too little is just as often a problem. It's just about common sense.
Too much time in Washington seems to inevitably corrupt all politicians, especially Republicans; that's just their party's role wrt big business. It's just the nature of the beast. Thus, Cheney and the last 8 years.
Too little experience in Washington or on the national scene is also worrying, because it means you probably aren't competent to handle the complexity of working for all 50 states, and you're also probably not competent to handle the pressure and maneuver the political arena without resorting to illegal abuses of power. Thus, Bush and the last 8 years.
Everyone knows who the real Commander in Chief is right now. So with a McCain/Palin ticket, the recipe is really one and the same as Cheney/Bush: Too much time in Washington/Too little.
It's sort of like baking a cake. Too much time in the oven... burned up crusty mess. Too little time in the oven... soppy inconsistent mess.
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So, on the other side of the equation, I think Joe Biden has spent too much time in DC as well, but he's a pretty good man in the scale of things (the least wealthy Senator), and I trust him to be a sort of voice of the conservative side in Obama's administration, for whatever that may be worth. Biden's record on foreign and domestic affairs is rock solid centrism.
But when it comes to the experience question and Barack Obama, after all my research on all the candidates, I really did find his qualifications to be just the right recipe for America right now. That's just my instinctive feeling... my gut reaction to the question of experience after reading up on all of these 4 people.
Every American will have to decide for themselves, but for any independents out there without any agenda but their own well being and the well being of their fellow Americans... I hope everyone sits down for a serious look at policy positions and records. Because I did, and I'm confident it's a pretty practical decision in the end on the question of experience... it's just sort of common sense. Not too much DC experience, not too little... but juuuuust right.
I was sort of surprised that Obama came so close to my estimation of the kind of balance I thought was the right mix for America in 2008. So I'll be a very satisfied voter this time around, and that's always a reassuring feeling.