For a while there were stories floating around that Barack Obama has had as much experience as John Kennedy did before he was President, which would only be true if you ignore virtually all of Kennedy’s years in Congress. This time they might have found an example thanks to Rich Miller:
The experience issue is less of a problem for me. Abraham Lincoln’s sole governmental experience was eight years in the Illinois House and just two years in Congress, yet he was one of our greatest presidents. Besides, more “experience” wallowing through the disgusting cesspool that is Washington may only hurt Obama, not help him.
According to Tom Schwartz, the Illinois state historian, 19th century voters didn’t view politics as a profession, so they didn’t expect presidential candidates like Lincoln to have extensive political experience. The issue never came up in the 1860 campaign, Schwartz said.
Miller also quotes Schwartz as arguing that the two aren’t only comparable in experience:
”What Lincoln brought to the presidency, which was very much needed at the time . . . [was] a very fine ear for listening to the public’s concerns and then being able to articulate responses that created consensus that was able to move the country forward in positive ways,” Schwartz said. Schwartz then said that he saw a direct comparison to Obama’s calls for unity and the way Obama had sparked so much interest from people who normally don’t care for politics.
Obama is definately sparking interest, for now at least. A little more experience wouldn’t hurt either in the 21st century.