Governor vs. Senator for POTUS…or…Why Krauthammer and Coulter are Wrong

With each new candidate that enters the race for POTUS it seems we must renew the debate over who is better qualified to be president, a former governor or a former senator.  I find myself increasingly annoyed listening to the arguments on both sides of this debate, but I am especially irked by the argument some are making that we should be wary of any first-term senator candidates because Obama was a first-term senator and look how that turned out.  Two of my favorite pundits, Charles Krauthammer and (sometimes) Ann Coulter, have both recently made that argument, much to my surprise and disappointment. 

There may be merit to the ‘inexperience’ argument and I wouldn’t dismiss the notion that leadership experience would be helpful to a president, but let’s get something clear once and for all:  Obama’s failure as POTUS was not a matter of his inexperience.  This ought to be evident by the fact that he has now been POTUS for six long years and despite that “experience” he is every bit as bad today as he was on day one, if not worse.  How can that be if experience makes one a better POTUS?  Fifty-plus years of “experience” didn’t help Fidel Castro, which ought to be a real head-scratcher to those who tout experience as the chief qualification for POTUS. 

Experience is helpful to a candidate who wants to do the right things but doesn’t yet know how. On the other hand, no amount of “experience” will make a candidate with the wrong ideas and the wrong motives, i.e., Barack Obama, become a good POTUS, so I find the comparison between him and conservative candidates nothing short of maddening.

Now let’s talk about the “experience advantage” of the governors.  It’s true that governors are given a unique opportunity to lead, and the history of their time in office ostensibly offers voters a sort of window into what their presidency might look like.  Be that as it may, however, the role of governor is quite different than the role of POTUS, or at least it should be.  Governors routinely deal with issues relating to education, transportation, healthcare, infrastructure, and other issues that, for better or worse, involve them in the day to day lives of their constituents.  The best governors, we are told, have learned the art of compromise (a.k.a. “reaching across the aisle”) and they know how to “take care” of their citizens.  The way I interpret this is that governors have learned the art of socialism.  I’m sure some would bristle at that description but it’s true.  Have you listened to former conservative, John Kasich, since he became governor of Ohio?  It seems his philosophies have evolved since he got that job, and not for the better.

Being that the federal government has no business, under the Constitution, of micromanaging education, transportation, healthcare, and so many other things that were meant to be left to the states, I am not necessarily impressed when a presidential candidate boasts of his “management experience” owing to his tenure as governor of this or that state.  In fact, I get a little scared.  I want a POTUS who protects my rights, not someone whose claim to fame is that he knows how to negotiate with the thieves on the other side of the aisle. 

Some conservatives in the pro-governor camp have invoked the legacy of Ronald Reagan to give weight to their side, but we should not allow our esteem for Reagan to let us forget that even Reagan gave us amnesty and arguably sowed the seeds to Obamacare (see “Ronald Reagan, EMTALA & the Roots of Obamacare”).  My point is not to diminish Reagan but to note that his greatest achievements as POTUS came when he followed his conservative instincts, not necessarily when he leaned on the compromise or nanny-state skills he became accustomed to using as governor.

History has thus far demonstrated that there is not necessarily a common denominator in candidates’ resumes that strongly suggests success or failure (I readily concede, however, that another community organizer is a slam-dunk bad idea).  Woodrow Wilson was a former governor, as were Clinton and George W. Bush.  LBJ and Nixon both served as vice president prior to their presidencies, so they could hardly be accused of inexperience, but we know how that turned out, if I may borrow a phrase from the pundits.  As far as I am concerned any “experience” points one earns as a governor is pretty much cancelled out by the ugly sausage-making they learn to immerse themselves in, and which they must unlearn in order to become a good POTUS.  That leaves us with name recognition, any actual achievements they can boast of, and the ideas and principles they bring to the table – same as anyone else.

~CW