VP Harris’ Qualifications

We live in an age of “memes” and “vibes.” The Web besieges us algorithmically with “clickbait” thousands of times a day. So most of us have forgotten, if we ever learned, how to focus on simple, basic facts.

Three simple facts now assume enormous importance. First, the coming election will determine whether American democracy and the Western Enlightenment continue. Second, the job of President of the United States is the most important, demanding job our species has. Third, in recent years, the political experience and qualifications of our presidents have generally trended down, leading to Donald J. Trump’s zero years in elective office before taking the top job.

In March 2007, I published a table showing how Barack Obama’s experience in elective office was, though not on the high side, within the range of historical norms. Now I’d like to do the same thing for Vice President Kamala Harris, just before she wraps up the Democratic nomination next week. Since things like planetary heating, consequent mass migration, and evolving pandemics are making life ever more complex, I’m also including higher education in my table.

Here, without further ado, are the bare facts of how Harris stands among the pantheon of recent presidents, and as compared to the only other woman to precede Harris as a major-party candidate. All figures are as of actual or putative first dates of inauguration, and the source for all data is Wikipedia:

Politician	Higher Education School(s)and Years	Pre-Presidential Political Office(s) and Years	Total Years of Higher Education	Total Pre-Presidential Years in Political Office(s)
Bill Clinton	Georgetown 4 Oxford 1 Yale Law 3	Arkansas Gov. 8 Arkansas AG 2	8	10
George W. Bush	Yale 4 Harvard Business 2	Texas Gov. 6	6	6
Barack Obama	Columbia 4 Harvard Law 3 Harvard Law 2 (as professor)	US Senator (IL) 4 Illinois State Sen. 8	9	12
Hillary Clinton	Wellesley 4 Yale Law 3 Yale Child Study Center 1	US Sec'y of State 4 US Senator (NY) 8	8	12
Donald J. Trump	Pennsylvania 4	None	4	0
Kamala Harris	Vanier College (Montreal) 1 Howard 4 UC Hastings Law 3	US Vice-President 4 US Senator (CA) 4 CA Attorney General 6 San Francisco DA 7	8	21

The table speaks for itself. If elected, Kamala Harris will, upon inauguration, become the president with the most pre-inauguration political experience, and tied (three ways) for the second most higher education, among all presidents in the last three decades but one.

So let’s put aside the utter drivel of the “DEI candidate,” shall we? Based on her paper record, Harris is the best of the lot, save only President Biden, whose more-then-half-century in political office no other candidate, and possibly no other president, can match.


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