Friday, November 23, 2007

The experience "argument"

A prominent Iowa Hillary supporter urges her to ditch the "experience" line: "I'll say it this way: Hillary, your "EXPERIENCE" slogan won't work. It won't get you elected. In Iowa and New Hampshire, it won't put it away for you. We're looking for more than that in our next president. We look at the candidates eye to eye, face to face. We listen carefully to your answers to our questions. That's OUR experience. Saying you're more "experienced" than Barack Obama or John Edwards or other candidates isn't going to get people to vote for you, because in Politics 21st Century, ideas count more than ever. Ideas will get us out of Iraq, sooner than later. Ideas will get us heath care — real, not imagined. Ideas will create an educational system that will prepare our kids for the 22nd century that many of them will touch, and in which their own children will compete."

This is a good reminder for conservatives, too.
Fundamental: it doesn't matter how much "experience" you have, if you have no ideas.
And it doesn't matter how much experience you have, if your experience lies in doing the wrong thing or embracing the wrong principles.