Thoughts on Obama's level of experience?

[Anonymous]

Hillary is a control freak, and that is concerning.
I like Obama because of what others have said about him. He works well with others (democrats and republicans) and can get to consensus. That means that more changes are likely to be pushed through.

[Anonymous]

By the way, the parking ticket thing does not even compare to some of Hillary's antics...Whitewater to name a few.

[Anonymous]

As a working mom, my biggest concern with Obama is that he is a poor role model for my husband, and other husbands.

The profile of Michelle Obama in Vanity Fair was very upsetting to me. According to Michelle, and Obama's own autobiography (which I did read in hopes of becoming a believer) Barack basically has been an absent father because of his ambition.

DH and I work really hard to respect each others ambitions while raising our children. And it is *really* hard. I think Barack Obama is a very traditional father presence, and I really want to move forward from that. I know other moms feel differently, but for us, it's a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Here's the vanity fair quite:

Earlier in their 15-year marriage, she was often furious with her husband. “I have chosen a life with a ridiculous schedule, a life that requires me to be gone from Michelle and the girls for long stretches of time and that exposes Michelle to all sorts of stress,” Barack wrote in his best-seller The Audacity of Hope. By the time their second child was born, he reported, “my wife’s anger toward me seemed barely contained. ‘You only think of yourself,’ she would tell me. ‘I never thought I’d have to raise a family alone.’?”

Mrs. Obama finally got tired of being enraged and miserable. “One day I woke up and said, ‘I can’t live my life mad. This is just no fun,’?” she reports. “For a period in my life, I thought the help I needed had to come from Barack. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but he wasn’t there. So I enlisted moms and babysitters and got help with the housecleaning, and I built that community myself.”

[Anonymous]

Jeff, I have to disagree with you on a couple of things: 1) Obama's smoking (even though he's trying to quit) will become an issue for him at some point. A president who smokes? No way. I know, I know, he's not doing it in public. Doesn't matter. This country is pretty vigilant about not smoking at this point. The main purpose of the Presidency is to make the most of the bully pulpit. A smoker on the bully pulpit? Doesn't resonate with me. I think it will become as issue eventually. 2) The gum chewing? In public? While engaged in debate as to who should be our next president. Makes him look a little weak (he obviously needed the gum or he wouldn't have been chewing it -- I can't believe he just thought it would be fine to chew gum at the MLK debate the way I chew it in my family room, blowing bubble and letting my kids pop them. Gum-chewing is like, only one step above tobacco chewing. And it's trashy.

Can you imagine -- imagine for just one moment -- if Hillary had been chewing gum during the MLK debate?? If she was a smoker?? They would have eaten her for dinner. And she'd be gone.

The double standard remains. It always will.

I can just imagine the stench of cigarette smoke in the Oval Office.

It may in the end have nothing to do with how good a President he can be. But it does look bad.

Amy

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff, I have to disagree with you on a couple of things:

Amy,

Assuming the gum helps end Obama's smoking addiction, he will eventually neither smoke nor chew nicotine gum. But even so, smoking and politics have long gone hand-in-hand, so I'm not sure smoking is a disqualifying factor. After all, even Bill Clinton was well known for his occasional cigars -- the most infamous of which was allegedly used (if not actually smoked) in the Oval Office.

You may well be correct that the media does not hold Obama and Clinton to the same standards, but that's not Obama's fault. Blame the media. Obama is not responsible for their biases.

[Anonymous]

As long as he doesn't smoke in public it wont affect him.
Not of the candidates have shining marriage histories.
Yes he hsa less "experience", and he may stumle a bit at first, but he should do fine.

[Anonymous]

Smoking and politics went hand-in-hand back in the day when political conventions were held in dark, smoke-filled rooms.

The government has issued so many initiatives to prevent smoking -- it's a bit difficult to me to imagine a smoking President.

And after he's elected, I think he'll go right back to smoking.

I heard it wasn't nicotine gum. I heard he chews Orbit.

And I cannot blame only the media for the double standard. The media is only a mirror of society -- and it is society that continues to hold men and women to separate standards. Strides have been made, but we are still the second sex.

When I was at Smith, we held a mock Democratic convention, and our keynote speaker said that he truly believed we would see a woman President in our lifetime. It's a nice thought.

I do get that Obama is more likeable and inspiring. One day I'm for one candidate, the next day for the other.

But you can't say it's OK for Obama to smoke because that's how it was done in 50s politics.

And a cigar -- is different. They symbolize celebration, decadence. They're kind of a joke. I do not know any "cigar smokers" anymore.

[Anonymous]

I wasn't remarking on his marriage, i was remarking on his parenting. Any parent can tell you they are two very different things.

Say what you will about Bill Clinton as a husband, but he was a MODERN father, who took time off when she was born, made sure to drop her off at school when he was governor, and be involved in her life on a daily basis. Every biography remarks on it.

Obama is a throwback to the 1950's where men can just drop seed and move on, but have them ready for photo ops. And here it is 16 years later since Bill Clinton served as a positive role model for fathers. As a woman, I feel the expectations of fatherhood have moved forward in the general public, except perhaps in the elite Harvard/fancy private high school school - world of Barack Obama.

Of all my friends, it is the ones in two ivy-league degree households with ambitious husbands who are most forced to bear a disproportionate burden in parenting. Too many women who do not want to stay home are being forced to by pressure from family + ambitions and irresponsible husbands.

Result? Ivy League women like Michelle are dropping out of the pipeline for power. And public university women like myself need them to blaze the way for us.

[Anonymous]

I believe being the administrator over a public school is probably one of the most difficult jobs in America. Many of the school administrators that operate the most effective schools lead with the heart, head, and hand. Most importantly they have a clear vision and hire a staff that they can inspire to manifest their vision. They think outside of the box to ensure academic success for all.

With that said I think we should think about our decisions in that manner; think about leaders that you know that have made a difference - school administrators, pastors, your current supervisior. What makes them great? I am more than certain you will find that it is their clear vision and ability to inspire others to manifest their vision. It may be naive but I will choose my candidate using these characteristics. Experience does not mean better because experience without a vision and the ability to inspire others is worthless!