I don’t necessarily want inexperienced politicians running for high office.  People seem to champion the idea of Washington outsiders saving the day by running for office.  I don’t buy it.  The systems are so complex and relationships so important that a past record is needed in order to bring about meaningful change.  The goal is not to get an outsider to clean up the insiders mess, it is to find the right person with outstanding ability and a meaningful record of accomplishing specific tasks to turn around broken processes. 

If a politician has difficulty targeting a specific success that brought about change, a project that they headed and exceeded expectations, then their promises of cleaning up the inefficiencies and corruption in our political system mean very little.  Usually it helps if the person has many such successes. 

Some campaigns focus on the idea that they are not a career politician (apparently they just want to make a career out of politics) as if it’s an obvious sign that they have what it takes to miraculously fix all of Washington’s ills.  My inclination, and I have no proof of this, is there is no correlation between people inexperienced in politics and grand achievements in office by these people.  Hearing a would be politician say: “I was a former businessman (or woman) who is sick of the way things work in Washington” means absolutely nothing to me.  What exactly have you done in your life that would make me think you are deserving of representing me in Washington?  I’m sick of the way things work in Washington too, but I’m not qualified to change it. 

Note: This has nothing to do with the presidential race.