So much for executive experience

David Drucker writes in the Washington Examiner,

So much for executive experience.

The first three Republicans to exit the presidential race were governors. Among them, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a conservative hero for taking on the public employee unions and originally predicted to be a finalist for the 2016 nomination; Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a one-time rising GOP star who led his state's recovery from Hurricane Katrina; and Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who presided over the best economy in America amid the Great Recession.

Pacing the field are a celebrity businessman, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon, and two 44-year-old first-term senators whose resumes are about equal to that of President Obama when the then-first term senator launched his 2008 White House bid at the age of 45. That runs counter to what Republican voters thought they would want after eight years of a president they deride as an amateur whose lack of having ever run anything is painfully evident.

According to Pew Research polling, Republicans favored experience and track record over "new ideas" and "new approach" in March by a margin of 57 percent to 36 percent. By late September, just after Walker become the second Republican to drop out, those numbers were reversed, with 65 percent preferring a change candidate, and only 29 percent wanting know-how. It's an unusual dynamic for the GOP.

Since World War II, the five Republicans elected president had previous executive experience. They were drawn from the ranks of governors (George W. Bush of Texas and Ronald Reagan of California) and vice presidents (George H.W. Bush, who served under Reagan, and Richard Nixon, who reported to Dwight D. Eisenhower.) Eisenhower, though not previously elected to public office, was a five-star U.S. Army general and the supreme Allied Commander during WWII.

... maybe the problem is that some of them have placed too much value on their resume, and not focused enough on a "compelling" agenda. Republican pollster David Winston said many candidates make the mistake of leading with their resume as validation that they are qualified to serve, rather than emphasizing ideas to make voters' lives better, and then pointing to their professional experience as proof that they have the skills to implement them.

"Candidates who have records need to understand that a record is something that can show that they have the ability to implement ideas," Winston said. "But if they don't have compelling ideas, what is the point of discussing your record?"

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