Why is experience so crucial for a Vice Presidential candidate but not important for a Presidential candidate?

Question

If Obama's lack of experience doesn't matter then why is Palin's experience such an important topic?

Answer 1

Because the real meat is actually in the Republicans Ticket now, not just the dog and pony show of the Dems.  

Answer 2

The problem is very simple - McCain has spent a ton of time targeting Obama's ability to lead on the basis of his lack of experience.  McCain has now gone ahead and picked a VP candidate that has minimal experience, which is basically saying "I don't care about experience anymore."  He's slapping himself in the face by picking a VP candidate like Palin.  It matters because he made it matter.

Answer 3

because this old man could croak at any moment....

Answer 4

great question...i've been thinking that all day...lol...well put...it'll be funny to watch the libs spin it...lol

Answer 5

it doesn't matter to me...that's not the point... the point is that it OBVIOUSLY matters to republicans, because they have never shut up about Obama's apparent "lack of experience"... and now the VP is , by all accounts... not experienced...

so...you can't attack someone for their lack of experience, and rejoice when you have someone picked with less experience...

Answer 6

Experience isn't necessarily the one-all for any candidate, be it for presidency, VP slot, a Senate or Congressional seat, city council, whatnot.   However, it has been the Republican Party that has put the most emphasis on tenure-in-government a.k.a. "experience."  McCain's pick for VP only affirms how much a "flip-flopper" McCain is in this regard.

To those who would otherwise downplay the importance of the vice-presidency, it should be known that the VP is still first in line should the president suffer some unfortunate circumstance (death/incapacitation, resignation, removal from office).  It would be wise to choose someone who would be able to adequately fulfill the responsibilities of the president.  Plus, the VP has a lot more sway in the Executive Branch nowadays.  (Who do you think has been calling the shots behind the scenes for the past 7 years?)

Answer 7

exactly what I have been trying to say just worded much better. Its just an excuse for the left to take a jab at the right (which is what they are doing for any and everything about Palin for the most part).

Answer 8

Here’s Barack Obama on his massive foreign-policy credentials:

To counter opponents’ accusations that he lacks experience in foreign policy, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois often cites his ties to relatives in poor villages in Kenya and the years he spent growing up in Indonesia. Now he has added a new personal detail to that résumé: a trip to Pakistan while a college student.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/us/pol...

Wow.  So his mother took him to live in Indonesia when he was eight, and he took a trip in college.  Meanwhile, Palin has governed a state surrounded by foreign nations.  Which has the practical experience in foreign policy and diplomacy?

During the entire primary campaign, Obama kept telling voters that his judgment overruled his lack of experience.  Now, suddenly, it doesn’t — but that puts Barack Obama at the same level as Sarah Palin, or even below, as Palin has the executive experience that Obama lacks.   Moreover, Palin has spent her time in politics actually accomplishing reform and challenging the political machine in her own party.  Did Obama do that?