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Experience Counts Against You
When considering the change-vs.-experience debate, it's worth remembering some recent electoral history.
Of the five presidents elected since Nixon resigned in 1974, four have been Washington neophytes. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush had zero federal government experience upon taking office.
Each was chosen by voters over a more-experienced opponent. Reagan, Clinton, and Bush 43 successfully faced re-election challenges from Washington insiders.
The exception that proves the rule is 1988: Bush 41 vs. Dukakis.
In the eight contests of the post-Watergate era, 1976 to 2004, candidates with a combined total of 30 years Washington experience prevailed over a cumulative 140 years of electorally useless Beltway incumbency.
Comments (1)
Frank Rich at the NYT has a great article - Check it out
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/opinion/10rich.html?ref=opinion
February 10, 2008 7:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
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