The experience factor

There isn't really much to the questions on Barack Obama's experience. Although experience can be important, very few presidents have had actual experience in the White House where it counts most of all.

The system is set up to handle people without experience. There are permanent full-time bureaucrats for example who keep the government running between transitions. An appointed cabinet of experts in various fields consult with the president on the full portfolio of presidential concerns.

The president acts mainly as decision-maker, as the one who provides direction to the experienced people who actually run the government. People hope that the decisions and direction provided by the president follow the latter's platform offered during the election. Otherwise the president and the related political party pay at the next election.

If Obama is elected, he will have had four years of Washington experience on top of seven years in the Illinois state senate. Before that he worked as a community advocate and organizer, civil rights lawyer and law professor, and his education is impeccable.

The real issue is what decisions and policy will Obama make while in office. Can he work with others to get consensus? Does he have the mettle to deal with tough, high pressure situations. And probably most of all does he have the necessary integrity and honesty -- will he do his best to do what he promises during the election in a law-abiding manner?

The wise voter will scrutinize Obama and all the other candidates on these important factors.

Supporters of U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) prepare posters at the University of Illinois Chicago, February 8, 2007. The rally will take place in the UIC Pavilion February 11 where Obama is expected to announce his intentions for a run for the presidency February 10. REUTERS/John Gress photo via Yahoo News.