Remember back in early 2001, when perpetual intellectual underachiever George W. Bush told the graduating class at Yale -- his alma mater -- that he was proof that even a "C" student could become president? Although he was aiming for self-deprecation, it was the subtext of that simple statement which made it so patently offensive. Bush wasn't the everyman hick he pretended to be -- a down-home interloper among the silver spoon-fed rich kids of the Ivy League; far from it. Not only was he a legacy while at Yale -- a predestined Skull and Bones oligarch -- but he in fact came from one of the wealthiest and most politically powerful families in the country. And that's what made his comments at the school's commencement so goddamned obnoxious: it's not as if he squeaked by with a "C" average because he had to work his way through college or because he faced some other obstacle that stood as an impediment to his education; it's not as if he scratched and clawed to earn that very average average. Bush didn't get better grades because he knew he didn't have to. He fucked around and didn't give a damn about actually being the best student he could be because his family, and his family's status, all but guaranteed that he'd eventually inherit the keys to the kingdom regardless. Why work for it when you don't have to?
What Bush was basically telling the Yale kids is, "You can be a lazy fuck-up and still get ahead -- as long as your last name is Bush. Heh heh."
No wonder they protested his appearance; it was an insult to everyone who actually worked to earn a degree.
At first glance, it may not seem like the dynastic Junior Bush has anything in common with an undereducated rube like Sarah Palin -- and really he doesn't.
Unless you consider this: they both believe that there's nothing wrong with ascending to the most important offices in our government without actually doing the work and learning the skills necessary to do the job well.
But whereas Bush seems slyly proud to have been able to work the system and stand on the shoulders of giants to get where he is, Palin's a True Believer -- she genuinely thinks that anyone, any "Joe Six-Pack," should have access to the presidency and vice presidency of this country without ever having made the effort or undertaken the course of self-betterment which would assure that he or she is more than just adequately qualified for the position.
What's more, the particular brand of Joe Six-Pack that Palin is ham-handedly attempting to ingratiate and compare herself to is really, no bullshit, the last guy you want having an inequitable advantage at the very top of our government. He's the guy who roboticaly chants "USA! USA!" when confronted with a delicate international situation that requires not simply stern action but thoughtful nuance as well; who likewise extols that this is "the greatest country on earth" without ever having tested that premise by traveling beyond its borders (or even wanting to); who believes that the rest of the world will invariably fall in line with whatever the good ole U-S-of-A says, dammit; who wants leaders he can drink with rather than ones he can look up to.
At the top of Bob Cesca's most recent piece for this site, he recounts a story that Mike Judge -- creator of Beavis and Butthead, Office Space and King of the Hill -- told during an appearance on David Letterman's show a while back. It provides a pretty good example of what "Joe Six-Pack" looks like. What's worth noting is that Mike Judge is also the creator of the hilariously depressing satire Idiocracy, which paints a picture of a future America in which the lowest common denominator has claimed absolute control over every facet of our culture, media and government -- a future where Joe Six-Pack really has become president (and vice president, and a doctor, and a lawyer, and everything else).
I used to think that George W. Bush was pushing us slowly in this direction -- that the fate of our country as depicted in Idiocracy was assured because of who Bush and his cronies prostrated themselves before in an effort to hold onto power. But Bush was just a pretender to the throne -- as incompetent as he was and is, he's never been just your average guy, even if for no other reason than that he accidentally hit the socioeconomic lotto at birth.
Sarah Palin though, she really is just your basic unimpressive doofus -- living proof of affirmative action for the ambitious-but-stupid.
And she doesn't simply think of Joe Six-Pack as a campaign slogan or a means to an end -- she thinks of him as the future.
Which, especially if you've seen Idiocracy, should scare the living hell out of you.
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I think our problems have stemmed much more from having Oil men in charge of the White House than lawyers in Congress. I truly feel a working knowledge of law is an important thing for an elected official to have - not so the Oil thing.
What is truly frightening is the fact that Sarah Palin has no knowledge of the issues nor, seemingly, some of John McCain's policies yet the sheep will gather because she's "like us." Isn't that the same thing the sheep said about "W" in 2000 & 2004. Obviously, people "like us" are not qualified to lead a country.
I'll stick with the smart, "elitist" thank you very much.
I don't want "just any old Joe six-pack" running this country. I want an intelligent, thoughtful, diplomatic statesman (or woman). In this election that person is Barrack Obama. Not to be mistaken as sexist, do I think a woman could do it? Heck, yeah...Hillary comes to mind. Given the current choices, though, Obama/Biden is the winning ticket in this election.
Even after the Bush disaster, the aw-shucks, gosh-darn rube routine still sells. And even after Bush, the deprecation of the well educated and articulate still proves a winner.