How much is experience worth?

One of Richard's follow-up comments on an earlier post poses interesting questions on the value of experience in a crisis. It reminded me of a story in last month's Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1717926,00.html) which addresses that question. It does a good job of making this point--past performance is no guarantee of future results.

This is perhaps more important in this election cycle than in others because none of the contenders for the White House has been an executive. Had the primary process delivered up a couple of current or former governors, voters would have a better sense of their ability to at least handle natural disasters (floods, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, wildfires, etc). With the race eventually coming down to two senators (from the current three), we don't really know how either of the choices who remain would handle a crisis. McCain's time as a POW gives him an experience he can campaign on that both Clinton and Obama lack. Whether the voters will give this much weight is anybody's guess.