One of the lines of attack that the Republicans are using is the thinly veiled dog whistle that Harris isn’t qualified for the job of president. Let’s see how her qualifications stack up against the last few president’s, shall we?
We’ll just focus on past offices held, degrees, and jobs. Where necessary, we may need to delve into other significant events. Use the table of contents to jump to specific sections about any of our previous seven presidents.
- Joe Biden
- Donald Trump
- Barack Obama
- George W Bush
- Bill Clinton
- Poppy Bush
- Ronald Reagan
- Kamala Harris
- Image Attribution
Joe Biden
Before being elected president, Joe Biden held these offices, had these jobs, earned these degrees and licenses, and had these achievements.
Elected Offices
- VICE PRESIDENT to Barack Obama for eight years
- US SENATOR from Delaware for 36 years (1973 – 2009)
- NEW CASTLE COUNTY COUNCIL for two years (1970 – 1972)
Education
- LAW DEGREE: Syracuse Universtiy, 1968
- BACHELOR’S DEGREE: University of Delaware, 1965
Non-Elected Positions
- ATTORNEY: After receiving his law degree and passing his law exam in the state of Delaware, he worked as an attorney for two years.
- ADJUNCT PROFESSOR: From 1991 – 2008, he taught occasional courses at the Widener University School of Law, Wilmington Branch.
Significant Achievements
- JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS: Given his long years in the Senate and his years as chair fo the judiciary committee, there’s no getting around his influence on the courts. Two important nominations come to mind:
- ANITA HILL: Biden was the chair of the judiciary committee when Clarence Thomas was nominated and heard Anita Hill’s gross stories of his lewd conduct when she worked with him.
- ROBERT BORK: He was instrumental in Borking Bork. You remember Robert Bork, Nixon’s AG appointed on Saturday Night Massacre, all the people who resigned rather than fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox because he did the hard job of subverting democracy and justice and was qualified to sit on the Supreme Court.
- RACIAL & GENDER ISSUES: Given his long political career and focus, he’s had significant impact on racial and gender issues.
- VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT: Biden was the chief sponsor of the VAMA, which was originally passed in 1994.
- FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT: He helped elect the first Black president in Barak Obama
- MARRIAGE EQUALITY: He sneakily backed Obama into a corner and forced him to publicly support marriage equality.
- FIRST BLACK ASIAN-AMERICAN FEMALE PRESIDENT: Now, he’s set his own ego aside to help get our first Black Asian-American female president elected.
Conclusion
Joe Biden, pretty darn qualified for the office.
Donald Trump
Trump took a different escalator to the office.
Elected Offices
NONE
Education
BACHELORS DEGREE: The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Miscellaneous Achievements and Distinctions
- THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION:
- The successor business to his father’s E. Trump & Sons that developed modest white’s only middle class apartment buildings in NYC outer boroughs.
- Now a family owned conglomerate of various enterprises and holdings.
- Numerous bankruptcy filings over the years, most famously, his Atlantic City casinos, but also his USFL and Trump Airlines.
- Famously bailed out by his father’s billions on several occasions. Always managing to squander the investments that his father made in him.
- Guilty of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records and barred from doing business in the State of New York.
- The Trump Foundation was dissolved and fined two million dollars for financial mismanagement.
- Among other real estate developments, the organization has several golf course and hotels.
- THE APPRENTICE: A reality TV show built around his ability to say “You’re fired!”
- VIET NAM WAR DRAFT: Received a suspect medical deferral due to bone spurs
Conclusion
Having held the office previously, it presupposes he is now qualified to hold it again. However, two impeachments, one of which garnered seven Republican votes in the senate. Add to that the 6 January Insurrection, and you have to question why anyone would view Trump as a viable candidate.
Barack Obama
Barack Obama rocketed to the top of the Democratic Party in the early 2000’s.
Elected Offices
- US SENATOR from Illinois, 2005 – 2008
- STATE SENATOR in Illinois, 1996 – 2004
Education
- LAW DEGREE: Harvard University, 1991
- BACHELORS DEGREE: Columbia University, 1983
Other Significant Events & Achievements
- BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION: Writer and editor for a research, publishing, and consulting firm, 1983 – 1985
- COMMUNITY ORGANIZER: Chicago’s Far South Side, 1985 – 1988
- HARVARD LAW REVIEW: First Black president of the Review
- UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: Lecturer on Constitutional law
- KEYNOTE ADDRESS at the Democratic National Convention in 2004
Conclusion
Barack Obama had fairly standard credentials and experience to be president.
George W Bush
George Bush took the legacy route to the office.
Elected Office
- GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, 1994 – 2002
Education
- MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, Harvard University, 1975
- BACHELORS DEGREE, Yale University, 1968
Other Significant Events & Achievements
- AIR NATIONAL GUARD, 1968 – 1973; shirking and granted an early release to attend Harvard, rather than serve in Viet Nam
- OIL & GAS BUSINESSES
- He got a handout from an old Bush family friend in the oil and gas industry who paid him to do something.
- Started his own company that was bought out by Harken Energy Corporation in 1986 for stock, a consultant’s position, and a seat on the board
- REFORMED ALCOHOLIC: He gave up drinking in 1986. Good for him.
- POPPY’S CAMPAIGN: Worked as a speech writer and advisor
- TEXAS RANGER:
- Minority investor
- Bought the general managership job
Conclusion
Although the least likely son of Poppy’s sons to make anything of himself, Poppy was able to give him a leg-up all the way to the presidency. Being governor of a state is considered to be a qualifying position for the presidency.
Bill Clinton
The road to the White House followed a familiar course for Bill Clinton.
Elected Offices
- GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS, 1978 – 1980 & 1982 – 1988
- ATTORNEY GENERAL of Arkansas, 1976 – 1978
Education
- LAW DEGREE: Yale University, 1973
- BACHELORS DEGREE: Georgetown University, 1968
- RHODES SCHOLAR: Oxford University, 1969 (no degree conferred)
Other Significant Events & Achievements
- VIET NAM WAR DRAFT: Clinton was able to work the system and avoid being drafted without joining any non-wartime military organization like ROTC or the guard. It should be noted that he made himself available to the draft board and received a high lottery number. At no time did he shirk his duty or resort to outright deception like some of his contemporaries and fellow presidents did.
- EXTRA-MARITAL AFFAIRS:
- Gennifer Flowers coped to a twelve-year affair with Clinton and Hilary Clinton saved their political ambitions in an interview on 60 Minutes.
- Monica Lewinsky admitted to having an affair with Clinton while he was in the White House
- IMPEACHMENT: In 1998, the Republican Congress impeached Clinton for having lied about the Lewinsky affair to which the country replied, “Meh, I woulda lied too. Whatya gonna do? You’re having an affair for crying out loud? You’re going to admit it to your wife?”
Conclusion
Having served as governor and state attorney general is adequate qualification to be president of the United States.
Poppy Bush
Poppy took a more genteel road to the White House.
Elected Offices
- VICE PRESIDENT to Ronald Reagan, 1981 – 1989
- CIA DIRECTOR, 1976 – 1977
- CHIEF LIASON OFFICER TO CHINA, 1974 – 1976
- UN AMBASSADOR 1971 – 1972
- REPRESENTATIVE IN THE HOUSE from Houston, Texas, 1966 – 1970
Education
- BACHELORS DEGREE, Yale University, 1948
Other Notable Events & Achievements
- WORLD WAR II:
- Youngest US Navy pilot in the war at 18 years old
- Flew 58 torpedo-bombers combat missions off of aircraft carriers in the Pacific, 1942 – 1944
- Distinguished Flying Cross after being shot down in 1944
- OIL BUSINESS: Started several oil industry businesses before becoming politically active
- PRESCOTT BUSH was his father and US Senator from Connecticut
- REAGAN’S COVER UPS:
- Alzheimer’s: Instrumental in keeping Reagan in office despite his clear cognitive decline in his last two years in office.
- The Iran-Contra Affair: What did he know and when did he know it? We’ll never know because Bush reluctantly gave his personal diaries years late to the Independent Prosecutor investigating the Affair and pardoned everyone who could’ve spilled the beans during their trials, bringing the investigation to an ignoble and abrupt halt.
- Agnew’s Bribery Scandal: Rachel Maddow’s podcast, Bag Man, uncovered a well-documented scheme in which the Nixon White House asked then chair of the Republican National Committee to pressure the US Senator brother of the US Attorney investigating Agnew to back off of the investigation.
Conclusion
Having been vice president is considered adequate qualification for being president, having other experience in appointed government office helps. Being a US Representative is not considered adequate qualification since no one has successfully run for the presidency based on their House experience alone.
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan took a very Trump-like route to the White House.
Elected Office
- GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA, 1967 – 1975
Education
- BACHELORS DEGREE, Eureka College, 1933
Other Significant Achievements & Events
- ACTING CAREER:
- Type cast as affable good-guys in B-movies
- 27-year career, appearing in 50 movies
- Army film unit: During WW II, although commissioned as a calvary officer, he served in Los Angeles making training films.
- THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD
- President of the guild from 1947 – 1952
- Strike breaker, crossed picket lines
- House Un-American Activities Committee, friendly witness blacklisting actors, directors, and writers
Conclusion
Being a state governor is considered adequate qualification to be president.
Kamala Harris
Now that we’ve reviewed the qualifications of the previous seven presidents, let’s see how Kamala Harris stacks up and then you can share your opinions on how qualified she is in the comments.
Elected Office
- VICE PRESIDENT, 2021 – 2025
- US SENATOR from California, 2017 – 2021
- ATTORNEY GENERAL of California, 2011 – 2017
- DISTRICT ATTORNEY of San Fransisco, 2003 – 2010
Education
- LAW DEGREE, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, 1989
- BACHELORS DEGREE, Howard University, 1986
Other Achievements & Significant Events
- VARIOUS DISTRICT ATTORNEY-LIKE OFFICES:
- Deputy District Attorney in Oakland, 1990 – 1998
- San Fransisco DA’s Office
- City Attorney’s Office of San Fransisco
- DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION: In 2012, she gave a notable speech at the convention.
- THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: She is known for sharp precise questioning of witnesses, especially Trump’s three Supreme Court nominees
- THE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Famously made Jeff Session tell her that she made him nervous, and that he usually had to pay Black women to do so, so he was confused by all this (allegedly) when he was testifying about Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Conclusion
Being a US Senator is considered adequate qualification for the presidency even if it is for one term. Holding statewide offices such as governorships and attorneys general is considered qualifying. Holding bachelors degrees and law degrees has been the general background of most of our successful politicians. So, Kamala Harris is as well prepared as any of her seven predecessors and much more qualified than the Felonious Rapist Traitor, Trump.
I’d love to discuss her qualifications with you in the comments, especially as they compare to specific Republican presidents.
Image Attribution
This image was found on Historia Biografia using a DuckDuckGo search for Creative Commons licensed images.
The Psy of Life 
Yes she does!
Jack
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I have this saying, “Winners look like winners.” Kamala looks like a winner.
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I have written several blog posts about Kamala Harris’s achievements over the years. I can provide the links if you’d like. There’s a reason 350 national security heavy-weights who’ve served in Democratic and Republican administrations have endorsed her, saying she’s had more foreign policy experience than most of the recent presidents, and The New York Times (which I’ve been hating because of their awful treatment of Biden and both siderisms), today wrote about her foreign policy expertise and diplomatic talent in glowing terms.
She’s gained union support because she was Biden’s point person to labor and has been on the ground and at work sites working on economic and labor issues. She’s been Biden’s partner in all the big accomplishments of his administration.
I was one of the 185,000 white women who were on a fund raising call for her Thursday night–to support our Black sisters, who did one within hours of Biden’s announcement–and raised $11 million. It was thrilling. There have been Latina support Zoom calls, AAPI women support, Black men support, and tomorrow a “White Dudes for Harris” Zoom is planned with Pete Buttigieg.
And all these disparate groups are joining together.
The money she’s raising and the volunteers signing up are astonishing. Voter registrations among 18-34 year olds have been soaring.
She has been known as the likely “first Black woman president” in many circles for years.
On my most recent blog post about her, I ended with a photo that’s been circulated among Americans of Indian descent. It reads “In Sanskrit, Kamala means Lotus. In America, Kamala means POTUS.
Cheers,
Annie
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Howdy Annie!
I like that, Kamala means POTUS.
The thing that surprised me most about laying out the basic qualifications and experiences of past Dem and GOP presidents is how lightly qualified the Republican presidents have been. All of them have had limited education and scant electoral experience. The only one that came close to be qualified in anything resembling a traditional sense is Poppy, but most of his experience was in appointed offices and each experience in the Executive Branch was marred by direct experience in impeachable scandal.
There is a reason that Republican presidents break government and Democratic presidents fix government afterward, and that is it.
Harris has been a breath of fresh air. She is positive, energetic, and confident. She is personable and down-to-earth.
You know Trump is going to do his best to tar and feather her rhetorically, but lets hope that the majority of the country has already tuned him out and isn’t interested in listening to his lies any more. Let’s hope that the majority of the country given a decent hardworking proven quantity to vote for will eagerly take that vote.
Huzzah!
Jack
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And huzzah to you, Jack! Yes, I was not surprised by your comparison of the relative backgrounds/experiences of all those presidents. And though it seems to be a tough concept for too many Americans to believe, the data clearly show what Dem strategist Simon Rosenberg presents in his slide presentation: “With Democrats Things Get Better.” As you say, Democrats fix what Republicans break.
But your title about qualifications allowed me to say a bit about our charismatic, highly qualified, whip-smart, joyful VP—so I took advantage of it. Lots of people don’t know much about her.
Cheers,
Annie
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Yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted. I want to know about what you think qualifies Harris for the presidency, but the subtext is why are Republicans saying someone who is perfectly qualified for the presidency, isn’t. The comparison makes clear that were Harris a white man, it would not be a question. The contrast is all the more glaring in that it points out not only how unqualified Trump was in 2016, but how his 6 January Insurrection and two impeachments should’ve made him an ostracized, shunned pariah in American and world society.
Huzzah!
Jack
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Yup! The fact that a ridiculous traitorous felon is the Republican standard bearer will always be shocking. But we must hope that a resounding Harris win will show Trump was one of those aberrations that have plagued US from time to time—and the last gasp of the hate-filled minority Trump evokes.
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Howdy Annie!
That’s the problem, though, isn’t it? Trump and the anti-democratic fascist oligarchs haven’t EVER been punished by the electorate. In fact, they’ve been rewarded by the electorate. Given his polling numbers right now, I fear that it won’t be this election, either.
When I was writing about authoritarian personalities and other contributing factors to the MAGA base, I made a rough calculation that about 30% of the entire population would be drawn to authoritarianism (I’ll include the link to the post below). But, with those numbers, the 70% of us who aren’t should be able to deliver a landslide victory to their electoral opponents. Instead, we get Trump promising that he’ll be a dictator on day one, and we’ll never have another election because it will be fixed so well.
I think we have to start with the 30% figure as our assumption. According to Peter Turchin, successful countries go through regular cycles of integration and disintegration. Using his model (the link will be under the link for the 30% figure), he predicted that the 2020’s would be a period of disintegration for the US. I can’t find the post with the cycle length in it, but as far as I can recall, he says something like 150 years or so depending on certain elements in a country. It’s an interesting theory interestingly arrived at.
That said, we are not experiencing the last gasp of a hate-filled minority of the population. We are experiencing the periodic swell of the hate-filled group. So, that makes the question, how do we put guardrails in place to ensure that the next rise of hate in America doesn’t do our democracy in? The 1850’s came damn close to destroying our democracy — the Civil War was how we saved it. Jim Crow was another attempt at destroying our democracy or at least stymying our democratic ideal, and the Civil Rights legislation of LBJ countered that. Reagan was the beginnings of the latest movement to threaten our democracy and Trump its fruition.
One way to quell this rising threat is through massive electoral victory, but that has proven elusive. Another way is by slowing the wealth pump, which is what Biden was doing be growing the middle class, and hopefully Harris will continue once she ekes out a victory. Turchin’s theory says that is the right way to proceed.
It is still shocking that the Felonious Rapist Traitor is the standard bearer for the oligarchical forces in the country, but I guess you play the hand you’re dealt. Lucky for us, Trump is actually a coward with extreme executive disfunction. If it had been any of the other strong men authoritarian types who have risen in our ranks to nearly take over the country (McCarthy and Huey Long, for two examples), we could be in even worse trouble than we are now.
Huzzah!
Jack
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What is there to say but, “Yep!”?
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Howdy Bob!
One of the things that struck me was how thin the qualifications were for the Republican presidents. Trump never held office before and doesn’t have an advanced degree of any kind. Also, failed businesses which were bailed out by a rich father and later Russian money laundering. W, an MBA, but failed businesses that were propped up by and rescued by family connections. Poppy who held mostly appointed positions, but at least was a genuine war hero. Reagan who was an actor and made training films promoting himself as having gone to war and later told the stories of the films as if they had happened to him! The whole lot of them all having done enough to be impeached, convicted and removed from office.
Nothing lays bare the Republican dog whistle of Harris’ qualifications than comparing them to the last four Republican presidents.
Huzzah!
Jack
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There’s a connection there between the Republican’s anti-government rhetoric so exemplified by Reagan’s famous remark about “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”, and a lack of concern about qualifications for governing. They are more driven by who you know than what you know. And, all the records of getting rescued from failures goes toward people with a sense of not being accountable, all the way to the presidential immunity decision.
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Howdy Bob!
That people are promoted to the presidency based on who they know, their mentors, and their family pedigree speaks to the bankrupt nature of the good-old boy network of running an organization or society. While we’ve never perfectly implemented a meritocracy, the Dems have come closer to it and we all have reaped the benefits of it. In fact, it seems like it is an elaborate field experiment. Well, the results are in. You really do need to try and find the best qualified person who balances ability, political savviness, and communication skills. Seems like Harris just might fit that bill. She may also benefit from the chagrined backlash at having let the racist knee-jerk reaction to Obama’s presidency and the misogynistic response to Clinton’s candidacy. We may be too embarrassed and ashamed of how we let those two things happen and saddle us with Trump and MAGA to not support Harris just because.
Huzzah!
Jack
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Reading the history of democracy, from the Greeks on, it always seems to be a field experiment. As long as we, the furless apes with the big heads keep trying, maybe, just maybe, we will mature socially or neurologically enough to get it right. In the meantime, sufficient embarrassment over those particular mistakes will be sufficient.
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That’s the problem, though. The Dark Tetrad personality disorders that now populate the Republican Party are incapable of embarrassment.
Shame and embarrassment are there to help us change socially abhorrent behavior. They lack access to those basic behavior change motivators. The sooner we cotton to the existential threat that they pose to not only to our democracy and way of life in the States but to the entire world because climate change, the better off we’ll all be.
Huzzah!
Jack
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