by Kenny Smith (Hastings) - August 19, 2008
Dr. Michael Genovese [Scholar in Residence] asked us to consider just how much experience mattered in the American presidency and presented some historic comparisons suggesting that it is not necessarily the amount of experience that a nominee has but the worth of the experience that they do have.
He suggested several qualities in a president that seem to be more important such as ability to be compassionate and go against the grain of popular opinion, being thick skinned but still connecting to the constituents. Some of his comparisons (in my opinion) were a little far-reaching to say the least, as he was citing Lincoln as a low experience high success president but then comparing that to Roosevelt as a highly experienced and highly successful president. This comparison is skewed because these presidents lived in completely different eras with unique political settings. It was certainly an interesting point of discussion at the afternoon's small group meeting in the park... when we weren't being distracted by the crazy parade and a hawk that kept scaring away the pigeons!
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