I’m tired of the argument that Hillary is so much more qualified for the job than Bernie. Bernie is much more qualified then Obama was and at least as “qualified”* as 26 of the last 44 presidents including Bill Clinton. Bernie was a mayor of a good sized city for 9 years then a congressman for 16 years then a senator for 10 years. Obama was a state senator for 7 years and only a US senator for about 3 years at this point in the nomination process. Clinton(Bill) was a Governor for 12 years. Here is a breakdown of the four simple counter arguments for qualifications being so important in this race in comparison to Obama.
You think Obama was qualified and did a good job- Great! then since Bernie is much more qualified then Obama was then qualifications shouldn’t be a campaign issue! You think Obama was qualified and did a bad job-Great! then since Bernie is much more qualified then Obama was then qualifications shouldn’t be a campaign issue! Since he did a bad job, why would you want the candidate who will perpetuate his policies? You don’t think Obama was qualified and did a good job-Apparently being qualified isn’t necessary to do a good job and it shouldn’t be a campaign issue. You don’t think Obama was qualified and did a bad job- Good thing Bernie is much more qualified then Obama was. Since Obama did a bad job, why would you want the candidate who will perpetuate his policies?I think, in Hillary’s case, qualifications are being used as a euphemism for it is her turn and that she is a woman and being held down because of it.
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*For this argument I am equating being a Governor on equal “qualification” terms with being a Senator. This may or may not be fair, but 16 previous Presidents were senators and 17 were governors. The only jobs that I equated as more “qualified” for this argument were secretary of state and vice president. I’m not sure how either stack up in the official hierarchy of “qualifications” to be President, but Hillary’s camp clearly thinks it is important so that’s how I framed this argument.
I thought about using quotes on “qualified” and “qualifications” throughout this post as it is clear that Bernie is qualified to be president by any historical measure, but I decided not to and take “qualifications” seriously for this one almost entire post.