Fear of Brains

If you want to know why Al Gore would be crazy to run for president, look at the New York Post's reaction to his Nobel Prize. The Post dredges up the thoroughly discredited notion that a British High Court judge found nine errors of fact in Gore's "eco film," An Inconvenient Truth. These smear tactics follow Gore wherever he goes. May I suggest that his intelligence scares us and that we prefer dumb frat boy draft dodgers for our presidents? We are not up to a president as clever as Al Gore. He challenges our self-destructiveness. We would rather wallow in gutter with George W. Bush whose stubborn stupidity comforts us.

Let's face the truth: Americans like dopey presidents and fear brainy ones. Like high school jocks, we would rather torment the brainy than let them enlighten us. Gore is much too intelligent to be our president. Perhaps he understands that he has more power behind the scenes in the communications industry than he could ever have as a candidate with a target on his back. While we drown with the polar bears, Gore and family will be blasting off into out space.

Comments

[ihavenobias]

With regard to so called "liberal media bias", let's take the Big 3 areas one by one...

Radio: According to Media Matters research, there is a 10 to 1 ratio of conservative shows to progressive shows.

Go ahead, turn on your radio and see how easy it is, for example, to get Limbaugh or Hannity (and how clear the signal is). Now try the same for Bill Press, Thom Hartmann or The Young Turks and see what happens.

(The good news is that progressive radio was less than 1% of the market share 3 years ago and is up to 10%)

Print: Again, according to MM, (paraphrase) conservative editorials pass by around 152 million eyes a day vs 125 for progressive writing.

The number one most widely circulated/syndicated political writer in America is conservative George Will.

I'd also point out that even the New York Times, the paper most pointed to for liberal bias, has David Brooks and Tom Friedman.

Television: I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I know you can find them at MM. Take the Sunday shows on the major networks (Meet the Press, etc), and the number of conservative guests is much higher than progressive guests.

Also, just think about it for a second.

Other than Keith Olbermann, name me ONE progressive show host. Seriously, just one. And no, Comedy Central shows do NOT count.

You could possibly make an "ok" case for Lou Dobbs, but is he really "progressive"? If anything his immigration rants (which make up 90% of his show) are populist-centrist.

The major network anchors might be pegged as "liberal", but they are soft moderates at best. Sure, I concede they might *personally* lean liberal, but you'd be hard pressed to show me solid examples of when that manifested itself in an actual show.

PS---Also note that on Olbermann's supposedly "liberal" MSNBC there is Tucker Carlson, Joe Scarborough and war correspondent Pat Buchanan.

Finally, let's not forget the blatantly conservative (idiot) Glenn Beck (who's also on ABC's Good Morning America!).

theyoungturks.com

[nikto]

Ms, Jong,

You already know the answer...
America is just looking for the "Zipless Vote".

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

Ahhh... this says it all... the Brist... still a Bushee lackey.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2190770,00.html

[LatinBrat]

Erica Jong...cheers to you! You made me proud to be a woman long before I ever really became one. We are increasingly becoming conditioned to submit. By whom? Republicans? Mass media? Maybe, but I think the culprit is plain old laziness on the part of the individual. Especially women. As a female in my mid-thirties, I have found the discourse of some of my peers is as limited as it was when I was in high school. I'm the mother of sons but if I had daughters I would feel even more compelled to make certain they were well informed, well spoken, intellectual young women. We are expected to conform to an obfuscated version of patritism where anything other than blind Bush love is considered subversive or even treasonous. Almost makes me want to be Canadian if it weren't so darn cold.

[meemee]

Dirtman I hope you and your principles live a long frustrated life together. Principles are admirable but not necessarily appropriate when making decisions that will affect the furture of our society. It is obvious that you are not a real democrate (nor did you claim to be). A true democrate thinks of others.... Have a nice day.

[thedirtman]

Thank you, thank you and thank you. We've been waging a War on Intelligent Thought for quite awhile now. I'm all for opposing people who want to scare us with suggestions that terror is the only issue - that's petrifaction. I'm through with charasmatic emptiness and feeling the need that my President must only look good on a stage. We need people to lead with their knowledge and experience - not their image. That is stupefaction.

Cleverness doesn't come from knowledge, or having an aim toward knowledge in any respects. In truth, cleverness is the result of having developed an aim for power rather than knowledge. It is only when one seeks wisdom that one gains knowledge, and knowledge is a fundamental requirement for getting from point A to point B. Power can't do that, although it might get one the opportunity to fail over and over.

It's time that the people choose the President, instead of the media. The second tier candidates have better qualifications and therefore they will get my uncompromised vote. When hiring anyone, I would always choose the most qualified candidate - not the media darling with the momentum. We have a responsibility here.

[meemee]

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John Edwards anyone will will have my 100% support. To all you Hillary Haters I must speak out. She has spent here entire adult life in politics - of course she knows the game and of course she will do whatever it takes to win. There is a lot at stake. She is very intelligent and she will do the right thing. Ya know, I'd like to have a pure candidate too. One that hasn't been tainted by the political game. Get real. just think about how the process has evolved, the dirty tricks. A truely brilliant person that does not have the political savay hasn't a chance. Both sides are guilty but the repugs are desperate and will sink lower than any Dem can imagine. I just get so angry when I read a post or hear anyone say they will not vote for her (Hillary) if she is the candidate. I don't agree with everything she supports but I respect her and therein is apparently where I differ with too many of you. The repubs were determined to destroy Bill Clinton and her suppport of him served this country well. In my veiw she was a patriot. Those of you pledging to withold your vote if she is the candidate, spouting claims her motiviation is self serving - well,take a long hard look at your self serving motivation.

[thedirtman]

Sorry meemee, not good enough. The media picked Hillary and everyone knows it.

I won't quit deserting the Democrats until we close the resume gap. All of the second tier candidates come with better qualifications and we need to base our votes on qualifications - not media sprinkles.

This is exactly what got us into our present troubles. We buy into candidates that look like their Daddy in a red tie. We believe they can end terror. We are sold a bumb ticket to a higher tax bill and our children go off to some foreign land to stand in the middle.

Not that Hillary is that bad. But it is high time to end this running with the media darlings. I'm voting against Hillary no matter what.

[Clarabell]

Thanks meemee -- you just gained a fan. And I don't pick em lightly.

[QueenCeleste]

Well said Erica. I've always loved your way with words.

Gore doesn't need the presidency now. He is an icon and can serve America and the world in other ways. And from their previous voting record, the American people don't deserve Gore.

[Tellmethetruth]

Here is some error in logic and facts - One person in the New York Times (a corporate business owned media)is critical of Gore and then you go from the particular to the global inferring all Americans prefer the dumb GW Bush. NO NO NO, only 29% of American still hang on to Bush and even in 2000 the majority of Americans preferred the smarter Gore.

Don't assume any one person in the corporate business media ever ever speaks for the majority of Americans, or even assume the majority of Americans don't think and still don't get it. The Majority of Americans do get it, but don't have a represented Government or a Free Press. Get it????

[TJS]

The first great "popularist" President was Theodore Roosevelt, who had near genuis intelligence. Woodrow Wilson was both popular and an intellectual. Recently, Americans have had mixed feelings about really bright Presidents from each party--Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon--who both had very high I.Q.'s. Their flaws--Nixon's character and Clinton's sex addiction--were certainly not the result of a lack of intelligence. The fact that George W. Bush is a dope only proves one thing...that George. W. Bush is a dope.

[factanonverba]

I don't necessarily believe that this is true though Americans do have a tendency to fall for simplistic pure rhetorical politicians of all stripes. However we do have to face the fact that this Administration is vehemently against the role of science in government and public policy-making. And having supported candidates such Paul Tsongas, Bill Bradley (in the primaries), Al Gore and John Anderson, I can attest to the fact that perhaps the most articulate and erudite candidates failed to meet with popular approval and lost their campaigns. Still the Senate has seen men and women like Paul Simon, Jacob Javits, Edmund Muskie, the aformentioned Paul Tsongas and Bill Bradley. Still it is hard to overlook James Inofe who is perhaps the biggest moron ever to hold that office.

[Mack20]

Let"s ask weird Al Gore how many carbon offset credits it cost to put on his ridiculous world-wide propaganda show. How many did he sell? Will he run for president now that it"s been determined the earth will implode if he doesn"t. Look folks, I"m from Tennessee and it was no accident he lost the election in 2000. Forget Florida. If I hear one more liberal lament about the Sunshine State, I am going to wretch. He couldn"t even take his own home state and turned his back on his boss who could have delivered Arkansas. Those two states could have given him the presidency. The people of Tennessee had had enough of him. Between him and his racist father (a Dixiecrat Senator along, with "Sheets Byrd", opposed to the Civil Rights Amendment) they"d done all the damage they could.

The guy is hoping all you starry-eyed libs will beg him to run for president. He cares about our world so much how could we lose? The truth is he wants power so bad he can"t stand it. He wants to control our lives so much he and his pals came up with this "carbon offset" scheme. Basically it affects you and me but not weird Al and his elite pals. They still fly around in their Lear jets, live in their gazillion square foot mansions with 16 heat pumps, and throw the big concert shindigs. We all must conform except the master. After all, were not intelligent or sophisticated enough to understand all the issues or worry about the details. Leave that to the genius leader we can all trust.

[Clarabell]

Mack: The article explains pretty clearly why Gore didn't win in Tennessee -- and your next to last sentence completes the mystery.

[BRUMALIA]

Mr. Al Gore may definitely be too cerebral for many Americans. Nonetheless, he did win the 2000 election by approximately 400,000 votes, despite the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Mr.George Bush who appears to be a simpleton or an amiable dunce.Indeed,many of us do not like erudite presidential candidates.Please be mindful of the fact that many of us only have our heads to keep our ears apart and not for thinking.

[lisakaz]

Erica,

I frankly think "fear of brains" affects more than choice of president among voters (even if Gore really "won"). Fear of brains surely describes how men view smart women and why women must act stupid in order to have a relationship. Sign me a PhD who didn't fake it (well enough) and hence single.

[truth101]

Nonsense. Jefferson and Madison. Lincoln and Roosevelt 1. Wilson. Roosevelt 2 and Johnson. Carter and Clinton. Brains everywhere. The others have often been shallow, mediocre, and simply uncreative silver spooners, or TRANSFER
OF SUCCESS from other fields like Eisenhauer or Reagon, or just down and out misanthropic Iago types like IAGO who would sell their soul for the power and the glory like Nixon. Bush 2 obviously was problematic in the debates, total silver spoon then and now.

[Alanlak]

America has had a rich and proud tradition of venerating ignorance. "Practical knowledge," that is, knowledge which led to the acquisition of personal monetary wealth, is what Americans have always valued. Read all about it in Richard Hofstadter's classic work, "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life."

[elcid66]

The "white" population of the U.S. is wilfully ignorant out of a belief it allows them to behave cruelly and selfishly while avoiding responsibility. The rest of the world has caught on and no longer buys U.S. propaganda that says beneath it all this is a great and compassionate nation. "Minorities" are this country's salvation.