It boils down to this: the American people are rapidly coming to the conclusion that you probably should be a governor of something before you become President.

RT @TheFix: If you’re running for president, you need to see this chart. http://t.co/sHKLhcNyDV pic.twitter.com/sHRIfsIyPF

— Melissa Clouthier (@MelissaTweets) May 19, 2014

It is… instructive… that the polling on this went from 55/24 in 2007 in favor of Senators over governors to 44/44 now. That this shift tracks the Presidency of Barack Obama – who, of course, had no executive experience prior to taking office, and who seems almost grimly determined to not acquire any now – should surprise no-one, and hopefully will not worry many Democrats. But it very much should. The top two Democratic candidates are former Senators with no direct executive experience, although we’ll certainly hear all sorts of novel excuses as to why First Lady/Vice President* counts. After that, the talent pool more or less dries up. It’s not that there aren’t plenty of governors out there with good job creation records and a proven ability to campaign and win; it’s just that they’re all Republicans. Guess the Democrats should have taken the 2010 midterms a lot more seriously, huh?

Ach, well, not my problem.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*Dick Cheney or Al Gore could make that argument, mind you. Joe Biden… well, I suspect that he’ll try, but the howls of laughter in response will probably through him off his stride.