Electing the Elite

One of the things that has mystified me over the past several years is how voters are drawn to 'average joes'. Normal guys. The candidate you can 'have a beer with'. Some people, it seems, are most comfortable electing a president who isn't much superior to themselves. (If it weren't for this fact, I don't believe our current administration would have been possible.)

I was once arguing with person much older than myself over the weak mental faculties of President Bush. I pointed out how Bush's numerous gaffes - mistaking 'persecute' for 'prosecute', adding an 's' onto the word 'children', etc. - are of too serious a nature to be normal verbal slip-ups, and come unsettlingly close to signs of actual functional illiteracy.

The person's response? "Well, maybe he's not the smartest person in the world, but then, neither am I."

Ok. But then, YOU AREN'T THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Jon Stewart gave a refreshing editorial aside last week during the Daily Show. In response to charges of 'elitism' levied against Barack Obama, Stewart said:

"Doesn't 'elite' mean good? Is that not something we're looking for in a president anymore? You know what, candidates: I know 'elite' is a bad word in politics, and you want to go bowling, and throw back a few beers. But the job you're applying for - if you get it, and it goes well - THEY MIGHT CARVE YOUR HEAD INTO A MOUNTAIN. If you don't actually think you're better than us, then what the fuck are you doing? In fact, not only do I want an 'elite' president, I want someone who's embarrassingly superior to me. Somebody who speaks sixteen languages, and sleeps two hours a night, hanging upside-down in a chamber they themselves designed!"