From the editor: It's all about experience

During the primary campaign a steady stream of Republican candidates turned our front door into something like a turnstile. We lost track of the number as visits increased toward the end. It was just a blur of future governors, Senators and attorney generals.

To be honest, we were quite happy to meet with them and share their message with readers. A newspaper is, after all, a way for the people to learn of candidates and their ideas from snippets notably longer than the modern day television sound bite.

Yet it is difficult for politicians to break from the tight, well-rehearsed statement.

You might have noticed that this year’s Republican primary field was rather crowded. Jon Bruning, Tom Carlson, Mike Foley, Beau McCoy, Pete Ricketts and Bryan Slone all vied for the party’s nod to challenge for the governor’s seat. Brain Buescher, Mike Hilgers, Doug Peterson and Pete Pirsch campaigned to run for attorney general. The race for Nebraska’s U.S. Senate post, open when Mike Johanns retires, listed Sid Dinsdale, Clifton Johnson, Bart McLeay, Shane Osborn and Benn Sasse.

And that doesn’t count those hoping for state auditor, state treasurer or U.S. Representative—or Democrats, Libertarians or Independents, for that matter.

Whenever we asked what set one apart from the rest of the field, however, the candidates invariably responded with the word “experience.” Bruning said it, as did McCoy, Foley, Carlson et al. Buescher said it, but so did Peterson. Dinsdale offered up his experience against that of McLeay and Osborn.

Every candidate believed his—it was an all-male Republican crowd—experience set him apart from the others.

They are probably right, mind you. Experience is a word shaped and shifted by nuance, one that is imprecise. It may or may not indicate how a person will respond to the unexpected.

I knew a high school teacher in Pennsylvania years ago who had traveled to every continent except Antarctica. She often regaled her students with first-hand accounts of these travels. This teacher told of instances. But she gathered little pertinent about the people—their history, culture and color. Much of what the said accurately related a tourist’s experience while sailing far wide of the mark representing a nation’s collective reality.

In other words, she had picked up on sights and sounds, but not much more. Certainly, however, she had been affected by her travels.

For voters, experience is difficult to gauge. One’s capacity to comprehend an issue, dissect it and zoom in on the most pertinent aspects may only come up on the rarest occasion, if at all. When, say, crisis erupts in Ukraine do we know with any certainty whether any of this state’s candidates for the U.S. Senate can measure conservative values against global realities and then persuade colleagues and the nation, bringing about an outcome that is best for the nation?

They are all men of great experience. But keep in mind the hems and haws of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy. He entered the White House with “experience” at the state level (and a bit in Washington), yet finds it difficult to impress his administration’s goals on the world, or the American people. Jimmy Carter came to Washington with years as a U.S. Navy officer and governor behind him, but could not contend with the problems that erupted around him. George W. Bush sent us into one conflict for the best of reasons, another without much thought. On the other hand, both George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton showed a firm grasp of American purpose and global realities.

The first Bush understood the unpleasant necessity of a dictatorial, yet secular Iraqi government—as well as the tenuous nature of temporary alliances—and refused to dismantle Saddam Hussein’s regime, despite his obvious tendency toward evil. His leadership was intelligent and mindful of this nation’s goals. Clinton mastered a post-Soviet Europe during the Balkan crisis, proving through subtle maneuvers that the continent still needed American military leadership. His management of policy was so clever even today most Americans don’t recognize the accomplishment.

Did we know any of this beforehand? No, we probably voted for partisan reason.

Each candidate running for office in Nebraska spoke honestly about their experience. But the subject is difficult to contain within a sound bite, or even a half-hour discussion for a newspaper article.

So when those selected by primary voters return during the general election campaign season, I hope to hear something like “I have solid and relevant experience, yet I know there will be instances this experience has not prepared me for. Here’s how I expect to react ...”

After all, even the most experienced find themselves in unfamiliar territory, from time to time.