At 45, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is the youngest major-party candidate running for president. But his decade of elective service and the broad experiences he's gained living and working outside Washington and even outside the country have prepared him well for the job, he said.
"I don't think the measure of leadership right now in the eyes of the American public is how long you've been in Washington," he said Monday in a meeting with the Register's editorial board.
Before his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, he worked in the Illinois Senate for eight years on such difficult issues as fixing a "broken" death-penalty system and providing more health insurance to children.
"I've been able to bring together Democrats and Republicans and make progress and get things done," he said. "I think what people are looking for is actually who's got the judgment for the job, who's got the capacity to bring people together to actually move forward on the promises that are made during the campaign
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