Over the years, I've spent a lot of time around auto racing.
A sport that seems to have universal appeal, not only across this country, but around the world.
Whether it's Formula 1, NASCAR, or Indy, spectators pay good money to bask in the noise, the speed, and the spectacle of racing.
But in addition to the spectacle, there's another appeal.
Very simply, those same spectators drive their own cars in traffic every day, and therefore know in their hearts that they could be just as good as the race drivers, given half the chance.
The same thing occurs, I'm told, at baseball and football games, with guys who have played those sports in high school and college.
It's always easier to watch than to do, to spectate rather than achieve.
After a year in office, the O-man is learning that first hand.
One year ago today, the O-man announced to the world that he would have the abomination called Guantanimo closed in less than a year.
Back then, he, like most youngsters, had far more answers than questions, far more knowledge than experience, far more certainty than reality.
So, after a year, the O-man is now looking a lot like his antithesis, George Bush, at least as far as Guantanimo policy is concerned.
It seems he's now saying that it will be far more difficult than first thought, that there are serious national security considerations that must be dealt with, and yes, even that there are some prisoners there who should be held indefinitely without being charged.
All things that he claimed as inhumane when George Bush was in charge.
All things that he claimed as inhumane when George Bush was in charge.
Not to mention the political minefield the O-man is encountering when he tries to find a place to put the people who are now confined to their beachfront prison.
Even the prisoners themselves have become an obstacle, with several filing lawsuits aimed at preventing them from the cruel and inhuman punishment that is Illinois in the winter.
It seems the idea of a real, maximum security prison life isn't as appealing as their indulged confinement in the tropics.
Who woulda thought?
My guess is that the O-man is having a lot of reality forced down his throat these days.
That he's finding out that it's not as easy as it looked when he was a candidate.
See, there's a big difference between running this country and complaining about how it's being run.
If he'd had any experience actually running something, or even governing as a lawmaker, he would have known that.
And, if he had bothered to staff his cabinet and advisers with something besides career politicians and lawyers, they could have told him as much.
More than one-third of Obama's top officials -- 37 percent -- have worked at a think tank or in academia at some point in their careers.
Likewise, more than one-third, 37 percent, boast an undergraduate or graduate degree from an Ivy League school.
Twelve percent are "double Ivy," holding undergraduate and graduate degrees from elite schools.
By itself, that's not a bad thing.
But coupled with their vocational experience, it highlights a significant shortcoming.
One area where the Obama team lacks luster and diversity is in the realm of business.
Few of his key people can point to significant business experience.
In terms of running a for-profit business, the Obama Cabinet member with the most experience is Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who was Colorado's attorney general and served one term in the Senate.
Salazar was a partner in a family-run ranch.
He and his wife have also owned and operated small businesses, including a Dairy Queen in Westminster, Colo., as well as radio stations in Pueblo and Denver.
Overall, only 28 percent of Obama's top officials were business executives at some point in their careers, compared with 38 percent of Bush's top officials at the start of his first term.
And, although O-man stresses the importance of public service, only a small fraction of the president's team served in the military.
Overall, just 12 percent were ever in the armed forces.
Of the 82 top appointees, 20 (24 percent) were in the military and 16 of those currently hold jobs in the Pentagon or the Veterans Affairs Department.
Of the 140 Obama officials who are age 48 or younger, only four -- three men and one woman -- have been in the military.
Only one member of Obama's Cabinet has worn a uniform: retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki, the VA secretary.
Those are important numbers when considering the degree of experience this administration has in actually doing things.
Single, partial senate terms and brief local community organization efforts can't seriously be seen as experience in getting things done.
And when coupled with minimal business and military experience of those he has surrounded himself with, it makes for a shaky foundation from which to try to run these United States.
Much like any "on the job training program", the O-man's first year of presidential apprenticeship has been painful to watch, and even more painful to endure.
Watching the O-man rebound from his first year will also be painful.
But then, it's always easier to spectate than to actually do it.
“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” --- Tom Bodett
“Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.” --- C.S. Lewis
