Quantity, not Quality
The professional blogger James Taranto writes:
Has anyone else noticed how unimpressive are the Democratic presidential candidates’ chief claims to fame? Howard Dean balanced a budget in Vermont. Joe Lieberman was almost elected vice president. Dick Gephardt climbed the ladder of House leadership, advancing from majority leader to minority leader. And of course John Kerry served in Vietnam.
They may soon be joined by retired general Wesley Clark, who won a war in Kosovo. Granted, the liberation of Kosovo from Slobodan Milosevic’s dictatorship was a worthy effort, and Clark and Bill Clinton deserve credit for it. But c’mon. As wars go, they don’t get much easier than this. Wesley Clark isn’t exactly U.S. Grant or Dwight Eisenhower.
Most of them are pretty noble public servants. Some (cough cough lieberman cough) are just inside-the-beltway lifetime Tools.
They may not be as impressive (for some value of impressive) as Eisenhower or Grant, but they’re not running against Eisenhower or Grant. They’re running against Bush and the PNAC crew. Give me a break. *I* have more military experience than most of these guys because of my illustrious stint in the boy scouts.
Their only real skill is that of political manipulation, and in 2004, hopefully, it will be their undoing.
Bush was in the miltary right? He wore that flight suit……
If serving as governor of Vermont doesn’t qualify Howard Dean qualified to be president, why did being governor of Texas (a state where the governor has very little real power) qualify George W. Bush to be president?
If failing to be elected Vice President after a long career in the Senate doesn’t qualify Joeseph Lieberman to be president, why did failing to get elected both as a Senator and as the Vice President qualify Abraham Lincoln to be President?
If merely being house minority leader doesn’t qualify Dick Gephardt to be president, why did it qualify Gerald Ford to be president?
If fighting in Vietnam doesn’t qualify John Kerry to be President, why did fighting in Cuba qualify Theodore Roosevelt to be President?
I don’t particularly like any of the Democrat Candidates, but it’s based on their politics, not because they’re not qualified for the position. By Mr. Taranto’s logic, this country has had very few qualified Presidents in its history.
Yes, President Bush was in the Texas Air National Guard.
I can’t wait to see him re-elected in 2004, along with a substantial majority in the House. The Dem/Socialist party is dying.
Matthew S. makes some good points. However, as a nit to pick, I would point out that TR was vice president before he was president, and was governor of New York before that.
Here is his White House bio.