Showing posts with label experience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label experience. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Obama on Experience

Obama visited the Googleplex last November to preach to the choir, and a devoted follower asked him a pretty softball question about how he's going to defend his relative lack of experience compared to others in the Democratic primary pool. I thought his answer was interesting in light of recent criticisms of Palin. He describes what makes a good presidential candidate and Palin more than fits the bill:

"What we're looking for when it comes ot leadership is vision, judgment, and character. and that's what I bring to this race. I have the experience of bringing people together to get things done...I'm good at listening to people and finding common ground. I've also got the ability to stand up for what I believe in, even when it’s unpopular...I know how to choose talent and get smart people around me who are capable and independent and bring together a variety of different points of views [sic]...We’re not looking for a chief operating officer when we're selecting a president. What we're looking for is someone who will chart a course and say here’s where America needs to go...This is all about judgment and character, and also I think a little sense of impatience, because part of the reason I'm running is that I'm impatient with the status quo and what we've seen from Democrats and Republicans is a certin willingness to tolerate what I consider an intolerable status quo."