Question:

From this side by side analysis, who has more experience? Obama or Palin?

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*I did not do this research

1980 - 1984

Obama: B.A. in political science with a specialization in international relations from Columbia University.

Palin: Wasilla High School, captain of the state-champion basketball team. Miss Wasilla, runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant, also Miss Congeniality, although that is now disputed.

1985 - 1990

Obama: moved to Chicago; became a community organizer as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization on Chicago's far South Side. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization.

Moved to Boston to attend Harvard Law School. Selected as an editor and then elected president of the Harvard Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors.

Palin: Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, with a minor in political science from the University of Idaho. Brief stint as a sports reporter for local Anchorage television stations; left to join her husband in commercial fishing.

1991 - 1995

Obama: graduated magna *** laude from Harvard Law School; received contract and advance to write a book ("Dreams from my Father") as well as a fellowship at the University of Chicago Law School. Directed the Illinois Project Vote from April to October 1992, a voter registration drive with a staff of 10 and 700 volunteers that achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be. Appointed as a Lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago. Joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 12-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development. Active in several community organizations, usually as a board member.

Palin: member of the Alasaka Independence Party which advocates "Alaska First". Elected to Wasilla city council.

1996 - 2000

Obama: promoted to Senior Lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. Elected to the Illinois Senate. Sponsored more than 800 bills. In 2000, lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.

Palin: elected as mayor of Wasilla (population 5,470), defeating the incumbent by a total of 616 votes to 413. Town budget, $8 million (3 millionths of the Federal budget), approximately 100 employees. Reduced property taxes but increased sales taxes. Fired the Wasilla police chief, citing a failure to support her administration. (He then sued Palin on the grounds that he was fired because he supported the campaign of Palin's opponent, but his suit was dismissed when the judge ruled that Palin had the right under state law to fire city employees, even for political reasons.) Hired a DC lobbyist to bring $27 million in earmarks to the city. Wasilla had zero debt when she entered office but she left it with indebtedness of over $22 million, including $15 million-plus for construction of a hockey center which was built on a piece of property that the city didn’t even have clear title to, a matter that is still in litigation. Attempted to ban books from the city library.

2001 - 2004

Obama: reelected in 2002 and became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee.

Publicly spoke out against the invasion of Iraq BEFORE the congressional authorization in 2002, and then again before the actual invasion in 2003.

Wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

November 2004: elected to the US Senate, receiving over 3.5 million votes, more than 70% of total.

Palin: elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. Unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor, coming in second in a five-way race in the Republican primary, receiving 19,000 votes. Appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, served as chairman from 2003 to 2004 and also served as Ethics Supervisor. Resigned in protest over the "lack of ethics" of fellow Republican members. Exposed the state Republican Party's chairman, Randy Ruedrich, for doing party work on public time and working closely with a company he was supposed to be regulating. Director of Ted Stevens' 527 group.

2005 to present

Obama: Sworn in as the fifth-ever African-American U.S. senator. Worked with Republican Senator Lugar to author and implement a program to locate and dismantle stray Russian WMD's. Designated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as the party's point man on ethics. Worked with Russ Feingold to pass a major ethics/lobbying reform bill. Cosponsored, w

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  1. You need to quantify what your talking about. If you say she got a BA in Journalism and he graduated magma *** laude (>) and made the editor of the Law Review, they will only count the years to each. When you point he has actually written a book and has a series of positions on international affairs that show remarkable judgment, they say she was in charge of the national Guard putting out a fire near a border with Russia - in other words lying about some type of thing.

    When you easily point out that Obama is vastly more qualified to president, they point out that being mayor of a city and govenor of a state gives one something called 'executive experience' which is a magical 2 word sentence that gives someone a characteristic that you cannot otherwise ascribe to them.


  2. From YOUR biased writings .. Obama !! - - For one -  2005 to Present ... Obama has 143 DAYS of ACTUAL experience as a JUNIOR U.S. Senator !!!

    In REALITY ... Palin !!

    ALL Americans should READ Obama's Global Poverty Act (S.2433) ... He is wanting to give America's sovereignty over to the United Nations !!!

    Alaska Govermor Sarah Palin has MORE TOTAL political experience than Obama!!

    KS1982

  3. Oh Amanda - sorry RON PAUL (at the top of this page....why do you keep changing your name....ANYWAY - THE FIRST ANSWER) - your reasoning is pathetically childish. What do you imagine a modern day President does in a time of war? Sit in a command centre and bark orders at Generals? No, of course not. He has a team of Generals, Admirals and political advisers around him advising him on the best course of action in the given situation. He then uses his common sense (hopefully) and judgement and picks the course of action most likely to achieve the desired military/political outcome.

    McCain's military experience amounts to getting shot down and being inprisoned for 5 years. Brave to be sure but how this makes him some kind of military genius I am still waiting for someone to explain to me.

    So, grow up Amanda. You sound like a child.

  4. Obama 08

  5. Obama. seriously what a DUMB question.

    palin was a mayor of 9000 and a govener for not even two full years.

    lame

  6. In terms of executive experience Palin has more based on being both a mayor and governor. As far as foreign affairs are concerned, as governor Palin has had to deal with neighboring Russia, particularly with the reemergence of the cold war.

    http://www.blackfive.net/main/2008/08/co...

    Obama has no executive experience and has never run a business or a state. Obama has no conviction with regards to the many bills that he voted on having pressed the "present" button 130 times. He's another "whichever way the wind blows" politician. Already he has reversed himself by adopting many the policies that Hillary touted in the primary.

  7. Palin.  Hands down.  And she's only running for VP!!!

  8. They both are unqualified.  Neither of them has any military experience.  I'd love to see them manage a war!

  9. Nice analysis, very in-depth and detailed.

    Now here's mine.........

    Intellectual Pragmatist vs Red-Neck Kook

  10. Your comparing the democratic candidate to the republican vice president candidate?  How bout the two of them combined vs. McCain in terms of experience.

  11. obama is an arrogant black racist..

    look at how he smiles as the whites gather by his side. lambs for the slaughter. the only white that he's ever embraced is his mothers teats. you foolish white dogs.

  12. They're not running for the same position, silly.

  13. If you had a brain in your head, you would know that Obama and Palin are NOT running for the same office!

    You didn't mention that all the houses he helped build, are deserted and condemned!

    You also didn't mention that he is very good friends with one of the most notorious terrorists in the US!  William Ayers, who plotted to blow up the Capital Building. The same William Ayers that he worked with on the housing project.

    Palin as Governor of Alaska has been in an Executive office, where she's had to make instant decisions. Your pal Obama has never been in that kind of position.

    Besides, why would I vote for someone who will not wear a US flag lapel pin and will not salute the American flag!!!

    No thanks, I want a President that is at least patriotic, and is happy to be an American!

  14. Palin has more executive experience, and this cannot be refuted. She led as the commander of the Alaska national guard, and dispatched the guard to aid in fighting forest fires. This is an executive decision, and Obama has never made one.

    So the choice is clear, but honestly, we're talking apples and oranges. The only responsibilities of the Vice President are casting a deciding vote in congress, and taking office if the President dies. So her inexperience isn't near as effectual as the inexperience of Obama.

  15. since when can you compare apples to snakes

  16. I think it is clear that Palin ran two businesses, ran a city and even ran a state. Obama just voted, which all of us could do since about second grade.

    Every Harvard and Yale graduate is looking for a business person to hire them right out of college; it's never been the other way around. You have to "prove" yourself if you don't want to start at the bottom and can demand a job.

    You overlooked Palin's biggest accomplishment and that was the work she did winning approval building the pipeline through Canada to US markets. This was very much an international accomplishment and took a lot of work, influence and understanding of markets, governments, and the industry.

    I'm not surprised that you don't have a clue about that as right now it is simply putting up numbers on one side and comparing them to the other side.

    It is very clear to those of us who have worked for a living, run a business, hired Harvard graduates, and met a payroll who is the most experienced in what really counts. Obama is not the one. But we are not talking Apples and Apples. One guy want to run the leading country of the free world, they other one is a running mate for McCain.

    You can slice it dozens of different ways but Obama has no business running the USA. When he gets experience and has "PROVEN" himself, maybe… but just maybe.

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