She's Not Ready Op Ed piece

[Incorrigible1]

Perhaps that's because you neglected to quote the part of my post where I did directly answer you. So I'll copy and paste it:

The details will vary with the specific organization in question. In Obama's case, the Developing Communities Project had a budget of $70,000 when he arrived (though it grew to $400,000 under Obama's leadership). The executive decisions made by the director of a non-profit are those made by the leader of any small organization.

To elaborate a bit, I'll draw from Obama's own description of community organizing:

In theory, community organizing provides a way to merge various strategies for neighborhood empowerment. Organizing begins with the premise that (1) the problems facing inner-city communities do not result from a lack of effective solutions, but from a lack of power to implement these solutions; (2) that the only way for communities to build long-term power is by organizing people and money around a common vision; and (3) that a viable organization can only be achieved if a broadly based indigenous leadership — and not one or two charismatic leaders — can knit together the diverse interests of their local institutions.

This means bringing together churches, block clubs, parent groups and any other institutions in a given community to pay dues, hire organizers, conduct research, develop leadership, hold rallies and education cam­paigns, and begin drawing up plans on a whole range of issues — jobs, education, crime, etc. Once such a vehicle is formed, it holds the power to make politicians, agencies and corporations more responsive to commu­nity needs. Equally important, it enables people to break their crippling isolation from each other, to reshape their mutual values and expectations and rediscover the possibilities of acting collaboratively — the prerequi­sites of any successful self-help initiative.

By using this approach, the Developing Communities Project and other organizations in Chicago's inner city have achieved some impressive results. Schools have been made more accountable-Job training programs have been established; housing has been renovated and built; city services have been provided; parks have been refurbished; and crime and drug problems have been curtailed. Additionally, plain folk have been able to access the levers of power, and a sophisticated pool of local civic leadership has been developed.

This isn't the cornerstone of his life experience, nor is it the basis of his run for the presidency. But it is very much real-world experience.

Thank you. From your description of the budget Obama had to deal with, it seems most home-owners share the same level of expertise.

Interestingly, from Wikipedia, it seems the Alaska state budget is considerably more:

In June 2007, Palin signed into law a $6.6 billion operating budget.[86] At the same time, she used her veto power to make the second-largest cuts of the construction budget in state history. The $237 million in cuts represented over 300 local projects, and reduced the construction budget to $1.6 billion.[87]

Palin followed through on a campaign promise to sell the Westwind II jet, a purchase made by the Murkowski administration for $2.7 million in 2005, on a state government credit account, against the wishes of the legislature. In August 2007, the jet was listed on eBay, but the sale fell through, and the plane was later sold for $2.1 million through a private brokerage firm.[88] Palin lives in Juneau during the legislative session and lives in Wasilla and works out of offices in Anchorage the rest of the year; to cover her travel expenses, and compensate for her choice not to use the governor's private chef[89] she charged the state ($16,951 in total allowances) and for her family's travel expenses ($43,490, an additional $93,000 for Palin herself), mostly between Juneau and Wasilla.[90][91] In response to criticism of the practice, the governor's staffers told The New York Times that the practice was in line with state policy, and that Palin's gubernatorial expenses are 80% below those of her predecessor, Frank Murkowski.[92]

While initially supporting $223 million in federal funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere", Palin backed off when Alaska's share of the cost increased. In February 2008, Palin's office sent a 70-page memo to Ted Stevens' office, outlining $200 million in funding requests for Alaska.[93]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yet, you proclaim Obama is all the more experienced. Hmmm...............

[Guardsman Bass]

Thank you. From your description of the budget Obama had to deal with, it seems most home-owners share the same level of expertise.

Interestingly, from Wikipedia, it seems the Alaska state budget is considerably more:

In June 2007, Palin signed into law a $6.6 billion operating budget.[86] At the same time, she used her veto power to make the second-largest cuts of the construction budget in state history. The $237 million in cuts represented over 300 local projects, and reduced the construction budget to $1.6 billion.[87]

Palin followed through on a campaign promise to sell the Westwind II jet, a purchase made by the Murkowski administration for $2.7 million in 2005, on a state government credit account, against the wishes of the legislature. In August 2007, the jet was listed on eBay, but the sale fell through, and the plane was later sold for $2.1 million through a private brokerage firm.[88] Palin lives in Juneau during the legislative session and lives in Wasilla and works out of offices in Anchorage the rest of the year; to cover her travel expenses, and compensate for her choice not to use the governor's private chef[89] she charged the state ($16,951 in total allowances) and for her family's travel expenses ($43,490, an additional $93,000 for Palin herself), mostly between Juneau and Wasilla.[90][91] In response to criticism of the practice, the governor's staffers told The New York Times that the practice was in line with state policy, and that Palin's gubernatorial expenses are 80% below those of her predecessor, Frank Murkowski.[92]

While initially supporting $223 million in federal funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere", Palin backed off when Alaska's share of the cost increased. In February 2008, Palin's office sent a 70-page memo to Ted Stevens' office, outlining $200 million in funding requests for Alaska.[93]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yet, you proclaim Obama is all the more experienced. Hmmm...............

I don't recall Obama running on a platform of experience - he's running on a platform of judgment, the right issues, and the right skills, which he's shown arguably in the positions he has held in his life and in his successful campaign management and advisor-selection skills (as opposed to McCain, who had to nearly fail twice before getting this whole "presidential campaign" business down to pat.).

[SoCrazes]

Its a fact. she has executive experience and has made executive decisions Obama and Biden have not and her aproval rating is almost 90% in Alaska now

Palin is viewed favorably by 58% thats more then McCain, Obama and Biden

rasmussenreports.com

In Alaska, it was 90% before "troopergate" and then it fell to 67% (still a good number).

Yes she is prettier than McCain, Obama, and Biden and should have a higher "viewed" percentage than them.

[SoCrazes]

Some great "Presidential Race" quotes I've seen on the web (please add to them):

If we want a President with experience we should write in Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Clinton, or Carter.

Why do people recite numbers from polls, they're meaningless, except the one on Super Tuesday of course.

Some act as if this is a horse race and they want to bet on the right horse. This isn't a horse race and this isn't a bet. This is a serious decision.

[Caesar]

In Alaska, it was 90% before "troopergate" and then it fell to 67% (still a good number).

Yes she is prettier than McCain, Obama, and Biden and should have a higher "viewed" percentage than them.

LOL I thought you would drift away from the subject. troopergate has been going on way befor she was the vp pick

[rideron]

So, the ideal candidate is someone with years of experience, but with no controversy and who has never stepped on anyones toes or made any enemies....

Mr. Rogers??

Captain Kangaroo??

[Startraveler]

Yet, you proclaim Obama is all the more experienced. Hmmm...............

I don't know what "all the more experienced" means. The very notion of "experience" seems to morph depending on who's being talked about. If it's McCain, then it's sheer number of years in Washington; unfortunately, that undercuts his message. If it's Palin, suddenly it's about "executive experience." Unfortunately, some zealots go too far and claim that elected experience in an executive branch is some sort of prerequisite for a president; I say "unfortunately" because they forget that they've got a senator at the top of their ticket (though the memory lapse is understandable, given that the Palin-McCain electoral strategy seems predicated on making people forget McCain is at the top of the ticket).

It makes little sense to me to make a statement as to who is "most experienced." I do know that Obama is the only candidate in this race with experience at the local, state, and federal level. I know that right now Barack Obama--in his role as chief executive of Obama for America, which ran one of the most effective ground-up insurgent campaigns in recent memory--has more paid staffers working under him than President Bush (the size of his campaign is unprecedented). But I don't care if by some metric his opponent is judged "more experienced." Obama's domestic policy preferences are significantly superior to McCain's and his foreign policy is far less knee-jerk than McCain's. Obama is a leader. McCain isn't even in control of his own campaign (indeed, I wonder why anyone goes to his town halls, as anything he says in them isn't official).

Edited September 16, 2008 by Startraveler