THE TROUBLE WITH SMART PEOPLE

Left wing pundits and politicians frustrated with the continued inability and stubborn refusal of the American voter to understand and appreciate the accomplishments of President Obama and the Democratically controlled Congress, have turned to insult. This is apparently their last last ditch effort to get their message across before the November 2 mid-term elections.

Maureen Dowd in her recent op-ed piece in the New York Times "Making Ignorance Chic" whined that "Sarah Palin has made ignorance fashionable". Joe Klein in his Times op-ed was even more forthright. In his piece entitled "Ignorance As Authenticity" Klein writes that "there is something profoundly diseased about a society that idolizes its ignoramuses and disdains its experts". Even President Obama, in a much more moderate and temperate manner, blames his administration's failure to get through to the folks, on his politics, not his policies. In other words, the Administration has failed to dumb it down enough.

The American voter can perhaps be excused for disdaining its experts. After all experts have taken America into two wars, one of which is increasingly becoming out of control, a gzillion dollar debt and deficit, high unemployment, and a massive housing crisis. So why not try something new and completely different? How much worse can it get? At least that's what the unwashed masses must be thinking and with just cause.

In a recent speech to University of Alberta law students, Justice Thomas Cromwell of the Supreme Court of Canada told his audience that a lawyer's most important attribute is good judgment. Perhaps the same applies to politicians. Good judgment is what the American people are looking for in their politicians. It matters little to them whether their candidates can wax on about their favourite Supreme Court judgments, name the current leaders of other countries, or can draw a map of the world. That's the stuff for professors and advisers. If successful, the politicians will be able to afford to hire all the experts they need to educate them. They can learn all that important stuff from them once in office.

One might in fact argue that the problem with smart people is that they think they do not need to listen to or take the advice of others. Why should they? They know soooo much. I for one would rather be led by a person who knows what they did not know, than one who knows everything.

Joe Klein and Maureen Dowd provide excellent illustrations of my point about good judgment. Do they really think that being obnoxious is going to help their cause? Are the dummies out there going to be enlightened by the insults and change their minds about which politicians to support? Of course not. Anyone with good judgment will realize that this will only energize these folks and broaden the base. President Obama learned that lesson in the Pennsylvania primary against Clinton. I am sure he is none too pleased with the type of support he and his party are getting from the likes of Joe Klein and Maureen Dowd. As they say "with friends like these, who needs enemies".