Does Experience Matter

It depends on the experience. If it were just a matter of experience per se, then you’d have to be really old to be relevant. Sadly for us old farts, this is not the case. But given the type of experience, given the proven success of one’s experience, it certainly should matter. In Senator Clinton’s case it is not an issue that works in her favor. Just being a survivor is not enough. Just having been there and voted is not enough. Her record is relevant and it’s a problem for her. I think her self-confidence, intelligence and ambition have taken her far. She is driven. I’ll give her that. She lived through hell and is here to tell us about the trip. That should make her a much better campaigner than Obama, but it hasn’t. She should have learned that we are a forgiving people, who don’t like stubborn for stubborn’ sake especially when stubborn is wrong. We’ve been living with that for nearly eight years. For us, the American people, if you made a mistake, call it a mistake and say you’re sorry. Then it is in the past. As long as a mistake hangs there in the present reminding us of your long past, it’s a problem and your experience is more a problem than an asset. If you cling to what didn’t work, rationalize, shake your finger in our faces, try to scare us (we who have lived through eight years with The Boy Who Cried Wolf) then we might not be so inclined to give you credit for anything more than longevity. It is this very issue that just might be John McCain’s undoing. Four more years of a failed regime? Mmmm, I think not.