The Curious Math of Hillary's "35 Years of Experience"

Hillary Clinton keeps talking about her 35 years of experience. "I am offering 35 years of experience making change," she said in New Hampshire. "I'm not just running on a promise of change, I'm running on 35 years of change." And she repeatedly mentioned the 35 years again in this week's debate in Las Vegas.

Well, Senator Clinton, I'm confused. I've done the math. You're 60, which means that 35 years ago you were 25. And I Googled your name, looking for all the change you were making as a 25 year old and, frankly, I'm not finding much. You were going to Yale Law School at the time -- which I'm sure was a personally transformative experience, but it's hardly the kind of change that should count on one's Presidential Training Experience resume, is it? Is that when you started your personal Working-for-Change-O-Meter?

That summer, the summer of 1972, you campaigned in Texas for George McGovern's unsuccessful presidential bid. A worthy -- if ultimately futile -- endeavor to be sure, but a notch on your Years of Change belt? Kind of a stretch, don't you think?

But as liberal as you are with your Experience Arithmetic, you are awfully stingy when it comes to the experience and background of Barack Obama.

"He was a part-time state senator for a few years," you recently said of Obama, "and then he came to the Senate and immediately started running for president," she said. "And that's his prerogative. That's his right. But I think it is important to compare and contrast our records."

For starters, the state senate in Illinois is not a full-time job, but you make it sound like he was some kind of political temp worker, just filling in when someone called in sick. But leaving that aside, why is it that you get to count your time canvassing for McGovern as working for change, but Obama's time as a community organizer and public housing advocate aren't worthy of mention? And what about his time at Harvard Law (where he was the first black president in the history of the Harvard Law Review)? Doesn't count? But your time at Yale Law does? In the now immortal words of your husband: Give me a break.

I know you are good person who is devoted to public service. But that doesn't absolve you of the responsibility to not distort your record. And to not distort the record of your opponent.

Your 35 years talking point just doesn't add up.

Comments

[mikonyc]

actually, obama's experience as the first "black" president of the harvard law review does not count, but his experience as president of the law review does. i don't think the fact that he was black counts as "experience."

[usapatriot1973]

The only math that is relevant when it comes to Hillary Clinton is how much corporate welfare and tax breaks she is going to give to the wealthy. She's a corporate whore and is going to pander to the corporations and the wealthy just like Bush does.

[Progressive101]

I'm running on 30 years of experience in changing things myself! Ever since I was born I've been changing things.

Please give me a break. The whole Clinton campaign is one big lie.

[AxelDC]

Considering Senators spend most of their time funding raising and getting feted by lobbyist, it should be considered a part-time job as well.

Also, how does being married to a professional qualify you to practice that profession? Does an allergist's wife practice medicine? Does a hockey player's wife play qualify for the NHL? Why does a governor's wife and president's wife get credit for years of experience?

Clinton is no feminist. She is riding on her husband's coattails, and has more in common with Eva Peron than Margaret Thatcher.

[Taurus]

Finally someone looks a her ridiculous claim and debunks it. I've been really irked to hear her talk about her years of experience. So what if she was married to the President and to a governor? I've been married to a psychologist for almost 25 years--that doesn't make me a shrink, not remotely.

[ChimpmasterDJ]

The Clintons, as David Geffen famously remarked, have an astonishing compulsion and ease for lying. The thing is, they used to e rather good at it. Now, as exemplified by this "35 years of experience" mantra, as well as Billy-Jeff's "5 times the votes" nonsense, their lies are becoming carelessly transparent.

It reminds me of cult leaders... Once their cult is well established, their lies are complete howlers to outsiders, but those lies are aimed at cult members so it doesn't matter.

If you need proof, try debating any of those quite obvious lies with any of the Clintonistas on these blogs, and see how vigourously they defend them.

[kay]

The "part-time" state legislature slap is typical, and completely dishonest.

The vast majority of state representatives are part-time, which she knows, of course, having been the First Lady of Arkansas, a stint that is included in the "35 years of experience".

Sounds good, though. If you're an idiot.

[Jander]

Finally some real investigative journalism and fact checking - thank you.
Hilary was a Republican in college, then a lawyer, first lady of Arkasas, our own first lady and is now a first time Senator.
I also have wonder about where and when she "battled Republicans" for anyone besides herself and Bill.
She lost the healthcare fight and the rest dealt with Monica didn't it?

[Independent voter]

Good article.

It's been said before, but it's fact that Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, Amitage, Wolfowitz all had experience too.

[OETKB]

Perhaps we should stop the exasperating attempts of creating the largest lists of whose experience is longer or honed to make it seem more relevant than it is. We are trying to make a choice for president and we have to figure out who has DONE THINGS that are of PRESENT value to our problems and who has exhibited the kind of ATTITUDE and judgment that we can trust and finally who can demonstrate they have the appropriate KNOWLEDGE for the task at hand. So here are the categories to fill in accordingly:

Bringing Peace

Health Care Cost and Access

More humane distribution of wealth

Environmental cleanup to stabilize and eliminate unwanted changes

Needed job creation

Promoting education and knowledge that adds true wealth(material and sensory) to our planet.

Promoting and honoring human effort.

Protecting individual and civil rights.

True security that diminishes belligerency where ever it may occur and if not zero, marginalizes it anti social elements.

This is not an exhaustive list but I see little of it matching these candidates to what troubles are facing us. Further none of them really is rich in the tools to carry them out. If it were so there would be a whole lot less bile than shows up on the Post. Because we have not examined these candidates effectively from the beginning, we are now stuck with, quite frankly, a lackluster bunch in terms of potential presidential material. George W. has proven that it does not take much to occupy and run the office, but no one running presently has demonstrated they will bring real know how to the job IMHO. Saying they can or their friends or ideologically connected partners saying so is just not enough. "Where's the beef?"

[bvb720]

35 years of experience???? Let me think.

She (Hillary) changed from a wife to a Woman without a true partner.

Hillary went through the Change of Life (Menopause)

She changed her attempt at putting in a National Health care system when her Billy was President.

She changed from wearing a dress to a Pants Suit

Now what else Hillary Clinton did remains a mystery.

She became a New York Senator. And did nothing as far as pushing for a good cause. And voted for the bill authorizing GW Bush to use force against Iraq. Though she said she didn't know she did.

As Brett Favre wife allegedly said. She has been with her husband Brett for 16 years and has the experience to be the Quarterback of the GreenBay Packers.

Good Luck Hillary.

[Jazzylady26]

nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
and you gotta have somethin'
if you wanna get my vote
nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
and that's where Barack Obama leaves me

in 1972 Barack Obama was 11 years old and studying foreign policy, logarithms, trig, nuclear physics, and the cosmos, with a little of whatever they speak in Tibet thrown in. He marched in the civil rights movement, was there on the steps with Dr. king, and on the balcony when King was shot. The mind of Obama is so vast and deep that we need not worry, we should just vote for the prince.

The truth of the matter is that Barack Obama is full of crap, and with past weeks racial recriminations that mutt will never get my vote, I don't care if his lying butt is the second coming, that load of hooey.

[jmsc1965]

Bravo!! If there was ever a case of "It's so because I say so," this 35 years of experience tag line is the poster child. If you look at Hillary's bio on her own website you will see she was a full-time employee/partner of The Rose Law Firm in Little Rock from 1976 to 1992. Sixteen years! Everybody knows you don't work for the top law firm in the state without having to devote 24/7. What's more, during most of those years she was also the wife of the Governor -- Arkansas's "first lady." And that takes her to the White House years. Frankly, I don't remember her making a whole lot of change in those years from 92 to 00, or anything else for that matter. The whole 35 year mantra is simply BUNK.

[Doofus]

Towards the beginning of this thread I posted:

It looks like the clock started during her law school years, & then to the Children's Defense Fund. From her website:

'As a law student, Hillary represented foster children and parents in family court and worked on some of the earliest studies creating legal standards for identifying and protecting abused children. Following graduation, she became a staff attorney for the Children's Defense Fund.'

----

It's not uncommon (or even wrong, arguably) for women who have 'non-traditional' careers to put all sorts of relevant-but-unusual work experience on their resume, which compensates for the demands of marriage & family-raising.

---------------

This is how she arrives at the 35 year figure.
You either accept it or you don't. It has nothing at all to do with how many years the other candidates did this or that, and it's certainly not her responsibility to explain their resumes.

[MoNut]

Hillary's 7 years in the Senate is technically the only 'experience' that's relevant...

And that can be summed up as: "What has she done for you LATELY?"

Her and Bill, both, were basically MIA until they hit the road with this "Mope for Votes Tour 2008".