If you stat to count things besides high-level governmental positions as 'experience' then you open yourself up to Obama arguing that his community leadership, teaching classes, historical background, etc. count towards his own experience. Sure, Fed Smith was a CEO and a leader, but my point is that one of McCain's most powerful lines of attack is going to become slightly more difficult to implement.
Yes, exactly. That's why McCain is never going to pick a running mate with as less experience than Obama. Because Bush's policies are a drag on McCain, McCain has to maximize any advantages he has over Obama with regard to "personal qualities" (i.e., anything not tied to a particular policy issue) like experience. Undercutting the experience argument by picking a running mate like Fred Smith would just be monumentally stupid.
