Vision trumps experience among US Democrats

San Diego, Apr 30: As they consider filling the world's most powerful job in 2008, many Democrats appear to prefer US presidential candidates with the most inspiring vision to those with the widest experience in elected office.

At their annual meeting in San Diego, more than 2,200 California Democrats gave an especially enthusiastic welcome this weekend to Barack Obama, who has served in the US Senate little more than two years in his first national office.

''People are looking for fresh faces, they are looking for real change,'' San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who has not endorsed any candidate, told Reuters. ''It just shows how fed up people are.'' ''I think it is healthy,'' he said from the floor of the convention center before the crowd erupted into wild cheers as Obama was introduced.

The son of a Kenyan father and a white Kansan mother, Obama has raised lots of money and generated considerable publicity in recent months ahead of the 2008 presidential primaries despite a resume thin in historical terms.

Front-runner Hillary Clinton has worked six years in the US Senate -- less than many candidates in past years -- but has years of behind-the-scenes experience as first lady in Bill Clinton's White House.

John Edwards, whom polls suggest is in third place among Democrats, served one term of six years in the US Senate.

By contrast, Christopher Dodd has represented Connecticut in the U.S. Senate since 1980, and had previously worked for six years in the House of Representatives; his father was also a senator. Sen.

Joseph Biden of Delaware has had the same job since 1972.

Bill Richardson, now serving his second term as governor of New Mexico, was in the US House of Representatives from 1982-97 and also served as US ambassador to the United Nations and secretary of energy. To date, those three men have lagged in polls.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a long-shot anti-war candidate who has served for decades in local, then state and national government, mocked those with lesser resumes.

''It would be interesting, okay, if we put a sign in front of the White House that said 'Vacancy, 2009, no experience needed,'' he told reporters.

Replacing Cynicism

Obama has portrayed his lack of experience as an opportunity to erase cynicism toward politics.

''People tell me I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I promise you this -- I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change,'' Obama told delegates to cheers.

Voters have sought a fresh face in past US elections -- but rivals to perceived front-runners have often had more years in public office than some of the current Democratic candidates.

Howard Dean generated early enthusiasm during the 2004 campaign, but had served a dozen years as governor of Vermont. Gary Hart represented the new voice during the 1984 Democratic primaries after nine years in the Senate.

In 1968, with public sentiment against the Vietnam War swelling, Sen. Eugene McCarthy attracted considerable attention, yet had served many years in the House and Senate.

''It's kind of outdated to think that you need that much experience,'' said Bill James, 42, a Silicon Valley lawyer and local Democratic activist. ''The experience you gain in legislative bodies like that is different from what you need to be an effective president.'' Sen. Dodd said polls today mean little as the primaries are so far in the future, although he knows the public has not always embraced a politician's long service in government.

''In almost any other race I can think of, if I stood up in front of you and said I've spent 26 years in the United States Senate, that would disqualify you immediately,'' he told reporters. ''Having had six years on-the-job training with George Bush, I think experience is now looming as an issue that people care about.'' Such thinking has yet to convince Lonnie Sanders, 65, who said he liked both Clinton and Obama. ''Biden, those guys, forget it, they've had their shot,'' he said.

Reuters>