Thursday, July 28, 2016

"Most Qualified?" Not Hardly.

One of the most ridiculous, historically inane, and preposterously wrong statements in this election season is the contention that Secretary Clinton is the most qualified individual ever to run for this office. Of the 25 individuals clearly more qualified than the Democratic Nominee, one is still with us...George H.W. Bush. Before he was elected president, he served as Vice-President, Director of Central Intelligence, RNC Chair, Ambassador to the UN, US Chief Liaison (effectively Ambassador) to China, and as a member of the U.S. House. Additionally, he was a pilot in WWII, winning the Distinguished Flying Cross. And he managed to accomplish all of these things without being investigated, indicted, or impeached.

Picking another at random...say, John Quincy Adams...Ambassador to the Netherlands, to Prussia, to Russia, and to the Court of St. James. He declined a nomination to the US Supreme Court. He served as Secretary of State under James Monroe, writing what became known as the Monroe Doctrine. He is generally considered one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, Secretary of State in US history. Additionally, he was a US Senator, and after his presidency, Adams served as a US Congressman until 1846, a tenure that ended with his death in the US Capitol building. During his seventeen years in the US House post-presidency, he was one of the great voices for abolition, and he won the Amistad case before the US Supreme Court in 1841.

I think it is fair to say that were either man available for a presidential draft during this election cycle, he would have been far preferable to either of the chosen nominees.