What do presidents like Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan have in common? All these former presidents are considered, in some quarters, to have been effective, successful, even great presidents.

They are also among the least experienced presidents in history.

There's been much talk of "experience" in this year's presidential cycle. Hillary is touting hers. Barack is brushing aside his lack of it. John McCain has the trump card with twice as much experience as either one of them.

But, just how important is "experience" when it comes to being president? Time magazine asked that question this week in a very interesting article. Time compared the resume of all 42 presidents, and the results were surprising. The data Time used was the amount of time each president spent in either an elected office, or high federal office, before he became president.

You may remember James Buchanan. He was, without question, the single most experienced official before becoming president. His presidency is not considered one of the better ones. He was so concerned about pleasing everyone that his policies probably exacerbated the tensions between north and south. He was, by the way, succeeded by one of our least experienced presidents, Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln was succeeded by the second most experienced president, Andrew Johnson. Another winner who had the distinction of being the only impeached president until Bill Clinton came along.

The list of presidents who had extensive government resumes, along with mediocre or failed presidencies, is long: Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, James Garfield, and Gerald Ford, to name a few. Lyndon Johnson had a very impressive resume, and was very skilled and successful as Senate Majority Leader. But his presidency got bogged down in the Vietnam War. His successes in civil rights and "Great Society" programs are far overshadowed by a war that he escalated.

The message is pretty clear. Experience in government does not translate into a successful presidency. In fact, a long pre-presidential career is more likely to be a harbinger of a failed presidency instead of a successful one.

Of course, lack of experience does not guarantee a good president either. Among our least experienced presidents, we have Ulysses S. Grant and George W. Bush.