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Go Home A Tentative Defense Of Hillary's 35 Years Of Experience.

JANUARY 18, 2008

A Tentative Defense Of Hillary's 35 Years Of Experience.

BY NOAM SCHEIBER

I'm coming a little late to the discussion of Hillary's experience going on over at The Plank, but thought I could add a small nugget: While I generally agree that Hillary's experience pales alongside, say, Joe Biden's, I don't think her 35-year number is quite as absurd as Ari Emanuel makes it out to be.

Emanuel writes:

Well, Senator Clinton, I'm confused. I've done the math. You're 60, which means that 35 years ago you were 25. And I Googled your name, looking for all the change you were making as a 25 year old and, frankly, I'm not finding much. You were going to Yale Law School at the time -- which I'm sure was a personally transformative experience, but it's hardly the kind of change that should count on one's Presidential Training Experience resume, is it? Is that when you started your personal Working-for-Change-O-Meter?

That summer, the summer of 1972, you campaigned in Texas for George McGovern's unsuccessful presidential bid. A worthy -- if ultimately futile -- endeavor to be sure, but a notch on your Years of Change belt? Kind of a stretch, don't you think?

My understanding is that Hillary's refering to the work she did interviewing families of disabled children who, for whatever reason, were unable to attend school. She did this right out of law school and, according to her (scroll down to the third response), it helped lay the groundwork for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. I can't vouch for that myself, but Bill Clinton frequently mentions this when he stumps for Hillary.

Of course, by this measure, Obama has some 20 years of experience "making change," since he moved to Chicago to become a community organizer in his early 20s. But, whatever the case, I don't think it's fair to say Hillary is basing her 35-year figure entirely on her work for George McGovern.

--Noam Scheiber

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8 comments

The real problem is that between them HRC and BHO have zero years of experience in making foreign policy. Yes, yes Bush is an idiot what did Cheney's experience get him anyway the world will love us if we elect a woman or afr-amer we still win on domestic policy asdfghjklqwertyuiop

But still.

- teplukhin2you

January 18, 2008 at 3:35pm

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Zero "years" of experience but BHO has been on the phone with Kenyan leaders every day trying to calm things down after the election.  I have a feeling that Obama will have a better handle not only on the politco-ethnic dynamics in Kenya but has been paying more attention to other hotspots like Congo and Darfur as a Senator than most.

- stgla

January 18, 2008 at 3:53pm

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I agree with everything you say, tep.  Particularly the "asdfghjklqwertyuiop" part, which is as cogent as anything Andrew Sullivan has to say about Clinton these days.

- drdannyu

January 18, 2008 at 4:02pm

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Don't we have to subtract the years Clinton spent as a corporate attorney and sitting on the board of Wal-Mart?

Unless, of course, she's referring to 'change' in the monetary sense, in which case she's being far too modest. She was working for more than change.

- fdanny

January 18, 2008 at 4:07pm

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Trouble is, he's been rather unsucessful, judging by the news reports from Kenya. I'd be surprised if one Kenyan gave one rat's ass about what BHO or ANY American politician said about their country.

- butchie b

January 18, 2008 at 4:55pm

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It is my understanding that Hillary, immediately after graduation, had an active role on the impeachment inquiry regarding Nixon.

www.newsweek.com/.../print

- dbarrr

January 18, 2008 at 6:13pm

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Personally, the thing that impresses me the most about Hillary is her management of the bimbo eruption PR strategy. The way she put aside her personal feelings towards Bill (see: rage) and sat down and hammered out an effective way to tar his mistresses as bimbos was magnificent. And she'll be ready on day one to deal with additional bimbo eruptions.

- virginiacentrist

January 18, 2008 at 6:15pm

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Also, regarding Hillary's liberal bona fides, it can't vouch for the current totality of her opinion, but provides some interesting insight into personal history, if it is accurate.

www.honoluluadvertiser.com/.../article

- dbarrr

January 18, 2008 at 6:16pm

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