The Experience Issue

Great piece by former Democratic strategist Phillip James in today's Guardian UK. Here's a taste:

The Bush campaign is hoping that while voters may be jittery over national security, they are even less likely to take any chances with an untested leadership. This might have been a reasonable ploy had the current president not come to the White House with only five years political experience as governor of Texas - a state that affords its governors the constitutional authority of a town crier. In fact if we are going to count, Edwards has one more year as senator under his belt than Bush had as governor.

And lest we forget Bush's Freudian slip the other day, "Dick Cheney can be president," James adds:

I wonder if Bush is beginning to regret his chosen form of words, given that the public has witnessed how Cheney can indeed be president - whenever the mood takes him, and especially when his overwhelmed boss is not up to the task.

Cheney has done little to dispel the impression that he operates puppet strings above the Oval Office. The commission looking into the events of 9/11 solidified this impression when it concluded that Cheney didn't bother to get Bush's OK before authorizing the shooting down of suspect civilian aircraft on that day.

More than anyone else, Cheney counselled the president to "do" Iraq and damn the consequences. The prospect of the ultimate Washington insider stalking the corridors of the White House for another four years should be enough to impel voters to choose "youth and inexperience" in November.

While we're at it, we should recall as well 44's response to the embattled Bush's attempt to dis Edwards:

"He was right that Dick Cheney was ready to take over on day one, and he did and he has been ever since, and that's what we got to change."

I don't know about y'all, but I sure was happy to hear Kerry say it.