Posted by
Sgt Relic on Tuesday, September 02, 2008 6:39:39 PM
Much as been said about the various experience quotients of the candidates since the selection of Ms. Palin by John McCain. There have been arguments and counter-arguments by the hatful. So, in the interest of reason and logic, with apologies to my former math teachers, this writer will make an attempt at a mathematical solution.
For purposes of this drill it is asked that the reader stipulate to a few facts not really in evidence but necessary for this essay to proceed to it’s conclusion. First, it is taken as true that experience as a U.S. Senator relates to the Presidency, equally with experience as a State Governor. Second, none of the current candidates has ever served as President.
We start with W being use to represent “wrinkly old white dudes” regardless of party affiliation. Junior Senators appear as J raised to the power of “s” with Junior Governors being shown as J raised to the power of ‘g” and overall, let E equal experience and T equal ticket. So the Obama/Biden ticket would be expressed as:
(Js – E) + (W + E) = T or in plain language, the Obama/Biden ticket
Similarly McCain/ Palin becomes:
(W + E) + (Jg – E) = T again for clarity McCain/Palin ticket
Since T is equal to T we can conclude that these tickets are evenly matched.
Let us now examine the “heart beat away” scenario. For this equation we will use the superscripted 25 to equal the nomination of a new VP under the 25th amendment as was the case with Gerald Ford’s elevation and in turn Nelson Rockefeller’s. The fact that this involves a sitting President calls for the addition of P equaling President. With that definition the formula for an early departure on the part John McCain would be expressed thus:
(Jg – E) + (W + E)25 = P or President Palin choosing an experienced VP by nomination.
In the opposing situation the formula becomes more complicated. Since Biden has few friends it is difficult to determine from what source he might draw a nominee. What can be concluded is that he would be hard pressed to find a more senior senator, representative or governor to serve as VP given his 36 years in the senate. Let the superscripted x represent an unknown person of lesser experience. Thus we get:
(W + E) + (Jx – E) = P or Biden choosing a VP of lesser experience.
In conclusion since T = T and P = P we can logically assume that there is NO argument on the experience issue in any combination. Let’s move on!