History At a Glance--Experience of Past U.S. Presidents

By now, everyone knows that one of the knocks on Barrack Obama is that he is inexperienced. After going to law school, he magnanimously passed over the opportunity to take lucrative "Wall Street" jobs worthy of his Ivy League pedigree (Columbia undergrad and Harvard Law). Obama moved to Chicago to become a "community organizer" for low-income residents and for those seeking public housing. After law school he practiced as a "civil rights" lawyer in Chicago.

In 1996 he was Elected to the Illinois State Senate. In 2000 he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. House. He started serving his CURRENT term in the U.S. Senate in 2005---a mere three years ago. That's three, 3, uno, dos, tres.

I decided to find out whether or not Obama would be considered inexperienced compared to past U.S. Presidents. Have I been exaggerating...does his experience compare favorably to some of the 43 U.S. Presidents. Does he have more experience than anyone elected to such high office?

Let's start with who most liberals and Democrats would say is the worst U.S. President ever, George W. Bush.

43rd President of the United States, W. was a two-term Governor of one of the largest states in the union, Texas. Prior to Governor of Texas, Bush earned an undergrad degree from Yale, an MBA from Harvard, and was a fighter pilot in the Air Force Reserves. He also owned a professional baseball team (Texas Rangers) and was somehow involved in the energy business--and of course was intimately involved in his father's successful presidential campaign...and was around the White House during the 8 years of the Reagan administration. Say what you want, but on paper, W. has a nice resume.

I know, I get it, one could make the argument that impressive resumes do not a good President make.

2nd President of the United States, John Adams. Adams was a farmer. He was a Harvard-educated lawyer. He was a delegate to the first and second Continental Congresses. He was one of the primary leaders of the movement that led to the creation of these United States. During the Revolutionary War he went to France and Holland to secure funds for the war effort, and helped negotiate the treaty of peace. From 1785 to 1788 he was minister to the Court of St. James's, returning to be elected Vice President under George Washington. He served two terms as Vice-President of the United States.

42nd President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton. Clinton graduated from Georgetown University where he was a Rhodes Scholar (Oxford University). He also graduated from Yale University law school. In 1974 he ran for but lost race for U.S. Congress. In 1976 he was elected Attorney General of Arkansas. In 1978 he was elected Governor of Arkansas. He lost a bid for a second term, but later won a race to retake that office--where he stayed until he was elected President in 1992.

32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR attended Harvard undergrad and Columbia Law School. He won election to the New York Senate in 1910. President Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1920. In 1928 Roosevelt became Governor of New York. He was elected President in November 1932, to the first of four terms.

13th President of the United States, Millard Fillmore. In 1823, Fillmore was admitted to the bar; seven years later he moved his law practice to Buffalo. He was an associate of the Whig politician Thurlow Weed. Wee helped Fillmore hold state office and for eight years was a member of the House of Representatives. In 1848, while Comptroller of New York, he was elected Vice President in the Taylor administration. He became President in 1850 when President Taylor died suddenly.

20th President of the United States, James Garfield. Garfield, one of Cuyahoga County's own, worked on canal boats to earn enough money to attend college. He graduated from Williams College (Massachusetts) in 1856. After Williams, he attended Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (later Hiram College) in Ohio as a classics professor. Within a year he was made the college's president. In 1859, Garfield was elected to the Ohio Senate. As early as 1862 he served in the Union Army and fought in the Civil War. At the early age of 31 he was promoted to Brigadier General. The highest rank he achieved was Major General (two-star general). While he was away in 1862, he was elected to Congress where he was reelected for almost 20 years. In 1880 he was nominated to be the Republican party nominee for president where he subsequently defeated General Winfield Scott.

18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant. Grant, who many consider one of the worst U.S. Presidents ever (but for Jimmy Carter), was a graduate of West Point. He fought in the Mexican war under General Zachary Taylor (future U.S. President). He was promoted to Major General during the Civil War by President Lincoln. In 1864, Lincoln appointed Grant as General-In-Chief of the Union Army. On April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Lee surrendered to Grant who wrote out terms of surrender. He was elected President in 1868 and served two terms.

Folks, I can't find a single President of these United States with anywhere near the pathetic resume sported by Barrack Hussein Obama. This man, who was serving in the Illinois State Senate just three years ago--has no business being President of the United States. He is too inexperienced. His flip-flopping on almost every issue in this campaign proves that he has not matured enough politically to be where he is today.

To some, this inexperience is an asset. That may be true were he not acting like a run-of-the-mill politician. We are in the middle of a war. We are in a protracted confrontation with Iran. Energy prices are soaring, the economy is in the tank. Now is not the time for on the job training--now is the time for tried and true experience.

John McCain is a veteran of our United States armed forces. He attended college at the United States Naval Academy. He served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years. He was a fighter pilot, and per one of my more recent posts, you are all aware of his plight in southeast Asia where he was a P.O.W for 5 1/2 years. His naval honors include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. McCain was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona in 1982. After serving two terms in the U.S. House, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 where he has served for 22 years.

The choice is clear, my friends. Unfortunately, most can't see the forrest for the trees. It's time to get real America. I get wanting change. I want change. Obama, however, is not the kind of inexperience we need in a crucial time in our nations history.

--G