Intellectuals can be losers

The response to my recent blog about the democrats' achilles heel missed the point. Even though an intelligent person in the white house is desirable, it is hard to place one when the electorate prefer  one whom they perceive as a "regular guy".  We have many examples in the past when intellectuals have sought the presidency - such as Kerry, Dean and Kennedy - but were rejected by the voters.

 

In order to be effective in elections the  party must first win. Losers do not call the shots in the white house. For decades the republicans have patterned a presentation for the candidates designed to please the voters. The GOP candidate must first of all be a chuch going christian, support the right to shoot animals, deny women the right to abortion and sound like a regular guy.That's why we get a constant serving of candidates like Bush. The republicans learned a long time ago to put the dummies up front where everyone can see them  while the smart guys call the shots from the shadows.They know what the voters want, but the democrats continue to lose by placing the best out front waving their academic credentials but turning off the voters.

 

Sometimes by accident, the democrats come up with a winner, such as Bill Clinton, who was a good old boy in the voters' handbook. Then there was Truman and Johnson, who by any stretch of the imagination were not considered intellectuals, but they got elected. It should be clear by now that elections are determined by the vast majority of working class people. The elititistswould do well by staying the the closet and letting the dummies do their work for them.

 

Obama is probably the last best hope for the democratic party, but he can be his own worst enemy if he is perceived as an intellectual. In order to be elected he must come off as a "regular guy" who identifies with the working people. So far, he has presented himself as one who worked hard and came up through the ranks. The GOP stategists know this and are working hard to put a different face on their opponent. Will they succeed?  We will have the answer in November.