Posted on 03/20/2012 7:52:11 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
In 2008, Republicans argued that Barack Obama couldn't be an effective president because he had never run anything. Since his inauguration, they have never let go of this argument. In a typical exchange during the BP oil spill, Sean Hannity and GOP strategist Ed Gillespie agreed that the feeling America was on the wrong track could be traced "back to the fact that [Obama] doesn't have executive experience." Indeed, when Rick Santorum was praising Sarah Palin as a vice presidential pick in 2008 at a speech at Ave Maria (yes, the same speech where he talked about Satan), he cited her executive experience as Alaska's governor for why she was more qualified than Barack Obama.
Parties out of power often nominate candidates who dominate in the areas where the incumbents are weak. So if you were a betting person, you'd put the college fund on Republicans nominating a candidate with executive experience. That was partially what made Mitt Romney such an attractive candidate for Republicans to run against Obama. He not only has executive experience, he has a lot of it. And he has executive experience in turning things around, a useful attribute when there is a large perception the country needed a change of direction. The passion for executive experience is also what makes the Santorum boomlet so unexpected. Like Barack Obama, he has no executive experience.
George W. Bush famously called himself the "decider," to a lot of snickering. But, to be fair, it did accurately sum up what a commander-in-chief does. A president faces few easy decisions; if a decision is easy, it gets made at lower levels....
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
This is why Santorum gets in trouble shooting his mouth off when he shouldn’t...one of the first things any executive (no matter how large or small) has to learn is how to control his tongue. Everything he/she says can and will be reported and twisted into any way the opposition possibly can. So they have to learn not to be baited into talking about porn, or why English should be the official language when it already is, etc. It’s called discipline, and like most members of Congress, Santorum still thinks it’s OK to say whatever he feels like at the time.
Lack of Executive Experience is only part of what is wrong with Barack Obama. His leftist politics are destructive no matter what his resume says......Much like Mittens. No matter what Romney has in experience he is NO Conservative and will not get my vote!
Missing to qualify 10 delegates in Illinois and missing to even getting on ballot in Virginia are typical symptoms of lacking executive experience. A successful executive learns to watch the details and to monitor the progress continuously.
Also, the poster above is right...a seasoned executive knows to control his rhetoric.
Chief reason why Obama has failed is his complete lack of executive experience. He never ran even a hot dog stand successfully.
The only thing Obama knows how to run is his mouth!
Since Rick Perry and Pawlenty dropped out, there’s only one candidate left with Executive experience.
So I don’t get why we are arguing for Executive experience now. Unless we are supposed to give up on Newt and Santorum now.
I mean, I agree that executive experience would be helpful — that’s why I was leaning to Perry; it’s why Bob McDonnell, after Perry dropped out, supported Romney. But if we want a conservative now, we have to forget this “executive experience” stuff.
Running the House of Representatives of the only superpower isn’t executive experience?
Good point.
It’s not as though Romney’s executive experience showed any leadership skill, anyway, not as Governor of Mass. All Romney did in Mass was follow the Democrat lead.
So I don't get why we are arguing for Executive experience now. Unless we are supposed to give up on Newt and Santorum now.
Santorum has only been a politician (shaking down lobbyists in K-Street Project with Tom DeLay) and then became a lobbyist, plying the politicians (it's the American Way, eh?)
Romney headed a private-equity firm, was a failure on the board of his father's friend's company (J.W. Marriott) and a pitiful governor.
Newt has more successful executive experience than both of them combined. Here's what he was doing in the last 6 years while helping conservative groups, organizations (including Tea Party from its beginning) and causes (including helping fund the recall of three Iowa pro-gay-marriage justices):
Gingrich's Secret Weapon: Newt Inc. - FR, 2012 January 25 / WSJ, by Neil King Jr. and Patrick O'Connor, 2011 May 09
Newt Gingrich: 'Defeating Obama is a matter of national security' - FR post #23, 2012 February 21
It also explains in detail why he didn't run in 2008 race - specifically to build a uniquely conservative private for-profit and non-profit network of companies and organizations, from scratch.
What did Romney and Santorum do in the last 4 years, except making money for themselves and running or preparing to run for office?
NO, that is legislative experience.
Newt clearly has leadership ability.
Executive experience is more than running a body of legislators.
His private sector experience more closely resembles a form of executive experience, but I argued when Cain was running that public government executive experience is quite different than running your own company.
I don’t discount the speakership as a useful precursor to the presidency. After all, somebody thought it good enough to make the Speaker 3rd in line for the Presidency.
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