Has a Senator from a large, diverse state ever gone on to become Secretary of State?

[pnwmom]

Or a Senator from any state? Has any Senator gone on to become Secretary of State?

And then been deemed "unqualified" by a primary opponent?

Of course it's only a coincidence that the person whose qualifications are denigrated is a woman.



And no, Bernie, she didn't say it first. Listen to the video. She said you WERE qualified. But you couldn't wait to go on the attack.

[jfern]

1. James Buchanan had a very impressive resume, and was a terrible President

It included serving for a number of a years as Senator from a large state (Pennsylvania) and then being Secretary of State for 4 years. But there was a lot more to it.

[pnwmom]

2. That doesn't answer my question. And you seem to be taking the odd position

that qualifications lower the chance of being a good President.

[jfern]

3. I didn't make any such position. Just that an impressive resume doesn't mean you'd be a good Preside

Also, I added more to my post that you might have missed.

[pnwmom]

6. Thank you. But did anyone else in his party ever suggest that Buchanan was unqualified,

or is Bernie the first to use this word against a former Senator and Secretary of State?

[jfern]

9. I doubt incumbent President Franklin Pierce that he defeated in the primary was a fan

[joshcryer]

14. They called him "unfit" and "incompetent."

Not sure if "unqualified" was in the verbiage back then. Presidential races weren't quite like running for class President as they are these days.

[revbones]

4. Nope - he didn't say it first.

Her campaign communications director explicitly said it for her first.

[pnwmom]

5. No, Fallon didn't. It was the interviewer who pressed her and she wouldn't take the bait.

Then others in the media falsely paraphrased the exchange, and Bernie did take the bait.

[revbones]

7. Nope, you're wrong. Please admit it.

A Clinton campaign fundraising appeal after the Wisconsin primary offered a glimpse into the new approach. The campaign's deputy communications director, Christina Reynolds, argued that Sanders is unqualified, sending a full transcript of a New York Daily News editorial board interview of Sanders.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/06/politics/hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders-democrats-unity/index.html

[pnwmom]

10. That is a very misleading paraphrase of what Reynolds actually said, which was in your link:

"We've said for a long time that this primary is about who's really going to be able to get things done. And from reading this interview, you get the impression Senator Sanders hasn't thought very much about that," Reynolds wrote. "In fact, even on his signature issue of breaking up the banks, he's unable to answer basic questions about how he'd go about doing it, and even seems uncertain whether a president does or doesn't already have that authority under existing law."

She added: "If you want to know why Hillary's experience and deep understanding of the issues facing American families matter so much, you should read this."

Neither Hillary nor Reynolds said that Bernie was unqualified.

[revbones]

11. So the Hillary argument is that she didn't use the exact word "unqualified"

but every synonym and way of saying it without the exact word - and that is somehow different from using the one word?

[pnwmom]

13. It is very different to make a personal, global judgment, like "unqualified," as opposed to saying

that a candidate isn't informed on specific issues.

[revbones]

15. Yeah, sure. That's what they did... nt

[Fumesucker]

8. "I know Senator McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House...

And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002.."

[RandySF]

12. We only need to consider the source

I don't take seriously someone with such a scarce record. Especially someone who only recently joined the party so he can take advantage of its infrastructure.

[Scuba]

16. She disqualified herself through horrible judgement and questionable (at best) ethics.