What make someone an expert? I can say with little doubt that the guy who fixed my sink is an expert plumber, because I have seen what his years of experience did and the outcome of his work. I believe that the guy who fixed my leaking roof on my 30 year old home was an expert roofer, because it no longer leaks. I am a little leery of the guy who claims to be an expert auto mechanic because his car sounds like crap, but he says he is an expert.

The reason I ask the question is that every night, morning and afternoon, on the T.V. and radio I hear folks that are introduced as experts lend their opinion on any number of subjects. When I hear a news caster introduce Ted Kennedy as an expert on education or Hillary Clinton as an expert on healthcare, I have to stop and ask the question; What exactly does it take to be considered an expert? Ted Kennedy has never been a teacher that I know of and I do not believe Hillary Clinton has her PhD in medicine or medical finance. Bono has been said to be an expert on world finance and dept relief, I thought he was a singer. And what about Donald Trump being called an expert on big finance and business when he has filed bankruptcy several times over the last decade.

Calling John Kerry a military expert when talking about the Iraq conflict because he was Vietnam is like calling me an expert on Bakersfield because I live in Phoenix, sure I've been there but am I really an expert on the place. Murtha is an "expert" on the war in Iraq because he has been there, so has Lieberman, but they don't call him an expert, he's called an opposing view, a rebel, a loose cannon in the Democratic Party.

On the other hand they call Condi Rice an expert on foreign policy and she claims only to be an expert on Football. She has never played the game, how can she claim expert status? Colin Powell was the last expert statesmen we had, but he fought wars all his adult life, not stopped them from starting. How could he be an expert on it?

Well I am an expert in my chosen field. My chosen field today is Experts. I am an expert expert. As an expert expert I will tell you what should qualify you as an expert. You should have experience in running the program or industry and have done it well. You should have been recognized as a leader in the field and should have won industry or organizational awards for being so good at it. Like Lombardi, if the award is named after you, that's a free title as expert. Like if they gave a President the Washington Award for excellence in executive branch running, then I would say that President is an expert on being President. Or if they handed out the PlayStation Award for game play, I would have no choice but to agree that the winner is an expert in game play.

The other way to gain expert status should be if you invented the thing you are said to be an expert about. Bill Gates in an expert on Windows, Power Point and Excel. Michelangelo was an expert on painting the ceilings of chapels. And Bob Hope was an expert on playing to the troops.

But just because you have been in the field does not make you an expert. While I am sure Monica performed well, I am not sure she was an expert at the art of, well you know. We should be asking for credentials from all so called experts. Is Martha Stewart an expert in building a business form the ground up or on being in prison? I say yes, she has done both.

So does this really make me an expert on experts. No, it does not. But when I look at how green my grass is and how well my fish eat I would have to say I am an expert on grass growing and feeding fish. The next time the news rolls out some "expert" on anything, ask the question.

Just what in the hell makes you an expert buddy?