ANOTHER OPINION: Examine Hillary Clinton’s ‘Presidential Qualifications’

by Adam Lang

HILLARY CLINTON

One of the talking points for Hillary Clinton has been her experience. To quote President Barack Obama, “I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman more qualified – not me, not Bill – than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America….”

There is a previous President that had a more-extensive résumé while he ran for the top job. He has already served as congressman, senator and ambassador, secretary of state. Who is he?

Here’s a hint. He was the only president from Pennsylvania.

Yup, James Buchanan, 15th president of the United States. He had all the job titles on his résumé, yet historians view him as the worst president in US history.

Why is this interesting trivia? Because it shows simply padding a résumé with job titles doesn’t equate to success or predict being good at the job. It’s important to evaluate how they did while operating under those titles.

As US Senator, Clinton:
● Voted for the Iraq War … then later changed her position … then voted against the troop surge that actually stabilized Iraq
● Voted for federal coal gas loans … now wants to shut down coal producers
● Introduced, in eight years in the US Senate, three bills that were passed … and they were to name a historic site, a post office and a highway in New York
● Promised 200,000 new jobs in upstate New York … which went on to lose more than 31,000 jobs.

As Secretary of State, she left the office with United States foreign policy on shakier ground:
● A “Russian Reset” which reset back to the Cold War

Adam Lang is Republican 29th Ward Leader

● Lack of support for the Arab Spring
● Invaded and destabilized Libya, with the Benghazi disaster
● Destruction of government documents
● Backing socialist leaders in Honduras
● Pulling out of anti-missile sites with Poland.

And this isn’t specific to just the presidential race. It’s something that should be kept in mind when you evaluate all the people on the ticket. If we took a look at the US Senate race, we can make a similar comparison between Sen. Toomey and challenger Katie McGinty.

For a quick example, McGinty touts her experience as chief of staff to Gov. Tom Wolf. But during that time, her job performance and advice was linked to some of the main reasons why Gov. Wolf led the budget holdout and shut down the Pennsylvania government for the longest time ever.

Titles mean little without looking at the work done behind them.

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