Is eloquence a good substitute for experience when considering a Presidential candidate?

Question

Is eloquence a good substitute for experience when considering a Presidential candidate?

Answer 1

Joe Lieberman, one time Democrat and VP pick for Gore asked the same question. Just before he announced backing Republican John McCain!

Answer 2

Eloquence is a good trait although I wouldn't say a good substitute for experience.  But I think a President must be able to stand behind a podium (a President does this all the time) and sound like he is talking to a first grade class.

Obama/Biden '08, 12.

Answer 3

If you had two candidates with equally good judgment, it is not a substitute.

But when you have one candidate with a lot of experience backing a war against a country that could never be a threat to us, and that war kills a million people including 4,000 of our troops and will end up costing over $1 trillion, I'll go with the less experienced guy.

McCain also helped that S & L avoid getting caught for a while and the S & L crisis ended up costing us hundreds of billions of dollars.

Republican deregulation of banks, and mortgage companies led to all these foreclosures, and deregulation of electricity led to power companies turning off the lights here in California to blackmail billions from our governor, Gray Davis.  Then they blamed Davis for resulting deficit to put in Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Republicans have a lot of experience, s******g us up one side and down the other, and figuring out how to give our tax dollars to their rich friends.  

Answer 4

Nope, especially seeing as how even eloquence can be a LIE.

Answer 5

Not at all.

Most con men are eloquent.

Answer 6

Agreed Sarah needs more experience

Answer 7

absolutely not. they each have their place.

Answer 8

i hear people with eloquence once had a bun stuck up there butt..!

Answer 9

It really depends on the kind of experience, I believe.  The kind of experience that continues to export jobs and throw billions upon billions of dollars into the cash bonfire called Iraq is not the kind of experience I want in a president.  We need someone who will work for the benefit of American citizens, the working families of the nation, not the greedy transglobal corporations that run McCain's campaign.

Answer 10

Wasn't that a good quote by Sen. Lieberman?  

Answer 11

Eloquence is great to communicate your ideas and goals, but it's takes experience to make the right decisions.  

Answer 12

Nope, Intelligence is a substitute for experience when considering a Presidential candidate. Something McCain doesn't seem to have much of.

Answer 13

No, not at all.  And I would hardly refer to Obama as being eloquent, considering his track record without a teleprompter.  

Answer 14

eloquence when you have your text prepared, your questions pre-sorted and reviewed is not eloquence.

I still remember the few times Obama was asked questions that were "off"s script and the err! huh! err! emerged like acne on a teenager's face.

So i wouldn't even give him that quality. i think as John Voight puts it ... Obama is an extremely good actor and can certainly read from a teleprompter.

Answer 15

See Abarham Lincoln for your answer.

Answer 16

No, but then Obama has both.   It's John McCain who is running a campaign without substance--nothing but vague attack ads with no mention of his policies, which he changes from day to day.