Hillary's Experience

Hillary has been claiming that she has "35 years of experience." But she's 60's years old. She has 35 years of experience because she has been working consistently since she was 25. It's tautological: she has 35 years of experience because she has been working for 35 years. But let's take a look at one element of that 35 years: her stint on the Wal-Mart board of directors. For purposes of this post, I'm going to be neutral on Wal-Mart itself. So the question is: why was Hillary chosen to be on the Wal-Mart? What does it say about her qualifications?

Was she on the Wal-Mart board because of her retail or management experience? No.
Was she on the Wal-Mart board because she is or was a Wal-Mart executive? No.
Was she on the Wal-Mart board because she was an academic, political, or military leader? No.

She was on the Wal-Mart board because she was a talented corporate lawyer who was married to the governor of Arkansas, which is where Wal-Mart is headquartered. I don't begrudge her the experience - I'm sure she did a good job. And, particularly in this day and age, there are lots of spouses who have positions on boards because of who they are married to. Lots of husbands and wives use their spouses connections to get ahead. There's nothing wrong getting a job through those kinds of connections. With one exception.

The Presidency is qualitatively different. It may seem unfair to judge Hillary Clinton's qualifications for President as inadequate because they have come through her relationship with her husband. But she is the one who has claimed this "35 years" as one of her prime attributes. That makes it fair game. And, unfortunately for her, the only significant attempt to change the world that she can point to is her attempt to reform health care in 1993-94. Which was a failure.