Actually, your example proves the opposite of your conclusion!
Spousal unit and I were talking about this today while reading something about the "Corrupt Bargain" that put Rutherford B. Hayes into the White House.
We got on to Herman Cain and the fact that he had no elected experience and that last time that happened was probably Ike.
Then I said (my point here, finally!) - the thing about the presidency is that there is no fixed resume that the person should have. There are times when the president MUST have an unusual background, precisely because it is necessary to have a President that is unique for the times.
Ike was elected this way. He wasn't elected because he was a popular general. He was elected because the United States still had a lot of mopping up to do with the WWII, including figuring out our new military-industrial posture in the world (the U.S. had not been a Superpower until WWII), figuring out occupied Europe and Japan.
Ike had run a large organization -- the U.S. military -- and after the war the U.S. needed a President who knew how to run things, "move, shoot and communicate" as they say in the Army. Ike had helped transition from war to peace in the military and had helped stand down the wartime machines. Likewise the country now needed to make the transition from wartime to peacetime, all the while still have considerable mop-up duties around the world.
So Ike was elected because he was the right man FOR THE TIMES. He had the skill set and experience to address the unique issues facing the country at that time.
Cain is an accomplished, experienced, successful businessman who is also a great communicator and someone who CAN (unlike Obama) shift the topic of race, finally, into the 21st century. We need someone who knows how to run a business, who understands from experience the real economy. Sure, it's not WWII-level experience, but we don't need someone with Ike's skills now. Business, financial, real economy experience and skills are what we need NOW.
We may just be at one of those relatively rare points in history where there is a man who should be elected because, like Ike, he's right for the times he lives in.
Cain was a ballistics analyst for the Navy, so if he were to become president and then launch a war against Iran, he could probably plot the missile coordinates himself! LOL!
-PJ
good post