With the general election less than a week away, we’re facing the scary prospect that we could be putting a candidate in office with just about as much experience serving in the U.S. Senate as I do being a college student. Does that qualify me to take Chancellor Oblinger’s position? If surrounding yourself with advisors for a few years and coming up with nice sounding policies of “change” and then turning around and giving nice sounding speeches to large crowds of Europeans qualifies you to be president give me a few years and another trip to France and I’ll be sure to enter the presidential race with the assumption that I’m somehow qualified enough to lead the world’s largest economy and most dominant military. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Sarah Palin has more experience as an executive than Barack Obama.Is America really ready for a president like Obama — one of the most liberal members of the United States Senate, who has openly called for the redistribution of wealth, has associated with domestic terrorist William Ayers and has never run a small business much less a government (unless you count being a community organizer)?aI would have hoped at the beginning of the campaign the answer would have been no, but the sad and scary reality of an Obama presidency is too close for comfort. Obama’s tax plan will destroy the economy by taking money out of the system in a time when there needs to be more private investment and business expansion. Taxing people who make over $250,000 will do exactly the opposite and stymie private sector growth. No growth equals few new jobs. Few new jobs mean fewer opportunities for college students which is a foreboding thought for graduating seniors. His economic plan will take the United States back to the 1900’s era of protectionism and be a detrimental attempt to resist the reality of economic globalization. On Iraq, Obama wanted to withdraw all troops within a certain time period at a time when we’re finally winning the war. Is his cut and run policy good for the troops, Iraq, or the United States? An unfinished job or a “careful” withdrawal planned by someone with no military experience whatsoever could lead to another lost country where terrorism will continue to breed. Obama’s inexperience is concerning, and the possibility that he’ll have no check and balance on his power if the Democrats reach the 60 seat majority necessary to block cloture is scary. Debate will be stifled and opposition will be nonexistent. We’ll be giving a blank check and an unopposed ability to govern to a man with less than four years in the United States Senate and no administrative, foreign policy, or military experience. E-mail Benton your thoughts on an Obama presidency to [email protected].