Experience counts

Fascinating editorial in Investor's Business Daily that makes the argument that when it comes to a successful presidency, experience does matter.

From the IBD editorial:

Of all our presidents since World War II, the three who ranked highest among all American presidents in a 2005 survey of scholars by the Wall Street Journal were:

• Ronald Reagan: No. 6 of 43 presidents, inaugurated within weeks of his 70th birthday.

• Harry Truman: No. 7, inaugurated at age 60.

• Dwight Eisenhower: No. 8, inaugurated at 62.

The three youngest presidents since WWII were:

• John Kennedy: ranked No. 15, inaugurated at 43.

• Bill Clinton: No. 22, inaugurated at 46.

• Jimmy Carter: No. 34, inaugurated at 52.

Our next president will face a resurgent Russia run by Vladimir Putin and his KGB friends, Iran and its nuclear program, and al-Qaida and other terrorists who want an atomic weapon. Do we want to elect another young president, possibly a Carter or a Neville Chamberlain type, who will get fooled by our dangerous enemies who are masters of deceit?

American voters have a clear choice to make on Nov. 4: The most inexperienced candidate to ever seek the White House in Barack Obama or a tested and proven leader in John McCain.

Read the full editorial at the newspaper's Web site.