(How important is foreign policy experience in this presidential race?) It’s very important. It breaks down into three main factors for being important: knowledge of the world; the ability to make executive decisions; and judgment. (What foreign policy does Clinton have?) Most of it as First Lady and she has traveled around the world and met foreign leaders and this is useful for the knowledge aspect. All three candidates are pretty good on the knowledge aspect. She hasn’t done much in executive decisions. As far as judgment goes, it seems to me she’s pretty good with the exception of the Iraq War. About all three it seems there are some similarities: none have made executive decisions. None have been commanders. (How did executive experience serve Eisenhower?) He started out knowing a number of the Soviet leaders, and he was up and running very quickly. (So how would it hinder a president having less experience?) it’s not necessarily a hindrance. Truman did ok without much experience, as did Kennedy, and Nixon. (In what other ways are the three comparable in their foreign policy experience?) Governors have more experience making decisions, so all three are rolling the dice on executive decisions. Senators don’t have that experience.
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