Was it really only a year a half ago when Sarah Palin was introduced to the American electorate? For us political junkies, it was a mesmerizing presidential campaign, punctuated by the emergence of a vice presidential candidate hailing from the unlikeliest of places--Wasilla, Alaska.
It didn't take long for the national conversation to turn to the question of Palin's experience.
Respected political journalists on the right (George Will, Impulse, Meet Experience) and on the left (Maureen Dowd, Vice in Go-Go Boots?) weighed in, and it wasn't all that flattering. Even Facebook got in the act--the page I Have More Foreign Policy Experience than Sarah Palin grew to 220,904 members. And then there were the likes of Jon Stewart and Tina Fey satirizing Palin’s experience.
Amidst the sometimes irreverent debate, some serious questions were being asked (and answered) about the kind of experience needed to govern effectively.
Here is David Brooks from his column on Palin, Why Experience Matters:
This week, our statewide conversation on who should be the next governor of Connecticut took a new turn, as Ned Lamont declared his candidacy for Governor.
And already the conversation has turned to Ned’s experience, qualifications, and, in turn, ideas:
• Does business experience translate into the ability to govern? (Brian Lockhart, Connecticut Post)
• What to get the candidate who has everything: A point (Editorial, Journal-Inquirer)
David Brooks was right--governance is hard. And the Journal-Inquirer was right, too, when they said this of Dan Malloy back in November:
DAN MALLOY FOR GOVERNOR OF CONNECTICUT
