How can you measure a candidate's ability to run the economy?

This Q was posed by the caller in the clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0C6mnAay...

Q : '28% of Americans say Obama's greatest weakness is his lack of experience. We need an economic superstar to win the economic tour de france. Do we really want to vote for the Democratic candidate who has training wheels on his bike? '

**Chrystia Freeland a panelist from the Financial News had a fascinating response:

A : "I'd like to share a little bit of reporting on this point. The caller referred to Bear Stearns and Wall Street. And when you talk to some of the Wall Street supporters of Barack Obama they say that last summer when he was first coming to them, one of their big questions was 'How the heck are you gonna run the economy, you have no executive experience?'

And his answer was interesting. What he said then and it was before the campaign was "I am going to use my campaign and the way I run it as a way to demonstrate to you and to the country what kind of a manager I am."

Is the management of the campaigns-the biggest all three have been in charge of in terms of funds & organizations-a good barometer to see beforehand how each candidate is going to manage the economy?

The elements you brought out about a campaign are actually not a bad measure of the skills of the head of that campaign.

Senator Obama has been able to bring in 1.2 million contributors with an average of $96. That tells me that he thinks differently than Clinton about getting just big bucks contributors and thus will think differently and more positive in fixing the economy.

Well, Bill did pretty well the first time, that's a good indicator.

Well lets see. His campaign is the most profitable in US History. Unlike the clinton campaign, his campaign is not running out of money because he is paying his advisors $5M a month and putting them up in fancy hotels. Unlike the clinton campaign he isn't stiffing the caterers to put ads on TV. Clinton has proven to have no ability to budget.

Unlike the McCain camp, Obama gets how to generate money. McCain --- as much as I like him --- has no clue on financial matters. His campaign's regular financial shortfalls and his own repeated admissions to knowing nothing about the economy reveal him as a financial neophyte. he cannot generate money. He lacks big ideas.

I want a president who can think of ways to generate money and who stays within his means. That stinks of competent management.

his answer was true and we are all witnessing it

Obama's answer is naive and would only be believed by those who have no knowledge of the requirements of what the job of the President entails.

A campaign is started from the ground up. I know people who started with the Obama campaign at the beginning when there were only a few people who devised the outlines and the structure. They are political pros, veterans of many campaign, who did the hiring and and put everything into motion.
Obama had virtually nothing to do with it himself. Professional campaign staff run his operation.

In contrast, a new President takes over the reins of a government in which he can change very little.
Most of the country's laws are in effect and can only be altered by Congressional action requiring months if not years of lobbying effort by the White House, even if the Congress is amenable to the changes. Most changes also require regulatory changes throughout the government as well.
The majority of the people working in government are civil service employees who remain from one administration to the next and many have been there for decades - they will continue to do the same job, regardless of who is President.
Obama will be able to change little. Who's he kidding?

There are a few things which the President can do by Executive Order. All Presidents do a few of these, such as Clinton's Don't Ask, Don't Tell order for which he paid a heavy price throughout his term in his relations with the military because of the manner in which he did it.

Obama was stiffing the journalist and the public with an insincere answer.
He has little to no hands-on control of his campaign.
The President has little direct power.
Obama either doesn't know this or he thinks the public is stupid enough to believe it.
Either way, he shows the American people no respect.

Do we want to vote for a Republican who will spend trillions of more dollars in a pointless war?

not much different than obama in that case...

both will ruin the economy..

actually all 3 probably will lol

Can we trust him when he has lied about his previous knowledge of Rev Wrights racist sermons?

If he lies about one important issue there is noting stopping him from lying about all the others.

Obama is a fraud! An empty suit. And worst of all a racist who is hiding from the truth.

So we should go by his overspending in his campaign?

That does bode ill, indeed.

So the U.S. will follow the 'model' of his campaign?!

[let me know when I might properly puke]

...

The economy runs itself.

But we can't afford to save selected countries from brutal dictators.

Bush f**ked the economy with HIS war.

Barring this sort of idiocy we would be fine.

For one .... take a look at how Hillary has handled her campaign expenses. Like not paying her staff's health insurance premiums? Ok ok ok .... she got busy and forgot? I don't so.

Well, the truth is just like he doesn't write his own speeches, he also doesn't manage his own campaign, he has a manager that does that. I would go more by how they handle and invest their own money. The Clintons have proven to be better at that. Both with their own personal finances as well as with the national economy when he was president. Anyone was given as much money as Obama has should be able to manage quite well. His campaign had more money than anyone else's, so it would be hard to run out. I've always said that he's a good snake-oil salesman. That doesn't mean he'll be a good president.
BTW, Hillary's staff is made up mostly of VOLUNTEERS...you do know what that means, don't you?

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