It's not you....it's me...

Okay so I have fumbled around with this issue for a while. I have been trying to get my mind around what it is that really bothers me about the Gov. Palin pick and I just could not put my finger on it. Well lo and behold, I finally stumbled upon it today thanks to the ignoble Hugh Hewitt.

Since Gov. Palin has had some difficulties with such media firebrands as Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson, her handlers decided it would be best if she spent some time doing a tour, in more friendly climbs. That of the well balanced and factually accurate land that is conservative talk radio. After her lackluster performances with the old guard media, it was felt she needed a more friendly environment to showcase her appeal to the American people. Here is a sampling of that interview:

For those who can't view videos at work this is the salient text in my estimation.

Hewitt: Governor, your candidacy has ignited extreme hostility, even some hatred on the left and in some parts of the media. Are you surprised? And what do you attribute this reaction to?

Palin: Oh, I think they're just not used to someone coming in from the outside saying you know what? It's time that normal Joe six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency, and I think that that's kind of taken some people off guard, and they're out of sorts, and they're ticked off about it.

As painful as it is to admit this, she is right. I do not want "Joe six-pack", anywhere near the White House, except maybe to take pictures on a family vacation. Why? Mr. Six-Pack is an idiot. That's why.

Call me an elitist, call me arrogant, but forgive me for wanting someone at the levers of power with more then a passing familiarity with fiscal policy, nuclear proliferation, legal acumen, or an understanding of energy policy. The aggrandizement of the "common man" is blatant play to the unwashed masses, it says, "Yes you too could be President! With out work or study just luck and plucky determination!". That has got to be the biggest canard of all time. It labors under the belief that simple common sense can solve most problems. Some (if not most) problems on a governmental/international scale are so massive that they require thought outside of the normal vein. While the solution itself may be "simple", the thought process that derives that from complicate morass that most "crisis" are composed of most definitely is not.

That is pretty much it. Confidence is not enough. Some hardcore knowledge or a first rate thought process is required for any sort of complicated solution. Gov. Palin, simply has not shown that. It is not so much a pure command of facts, or figures that I am looking for, it is the complete lack of intellectual curiousness, that I find most disturbing. Here is the last in the series of interviews with Katie Couric, where Mrs. Couric posed the same question to both candidates:

You see, now I know I am not a typical voter. I know that. I am probably much more slanted to the elitist side of things. I do not deny that, but expecting our political leaders to have a firm grasp of our collective history and to be able to speak cogently on that, is not a partisan attack. Has the bar been lowered that much. I expect more of those who are called to, or wish to lead. They have a higher bar they must meet, because the costs of their failures are felt by more people. That is not sexist, that is not a hatred for the common man. That is just wanting someone competent doing the job they are asked to do.

I want the people who are going to be able to affect me life, to be smarter then me. Even if you do not agree with any Joe Biden on anything, he does at the very least seem to have a grasp on history, and to an understanding of government. Gov. Palin did not, she just mouthed talking point after talking point, trying to deflect. There are many cases out there, that could be argued either way. Plessy vs. Ferguson, Dred Scott, the recent strike down of the D.C gun ban, Lilly Ledbetter (equal pay for women), or even the recent decision that lowered the damages versus Exxon to paid to the state of Alaska. Yes the Alaska she was governor of.

I am no judicial scholar and those are the "other" cases I came up with off the top of my head. I am sure a conservative could come up with a different set of decisions. But they are definitely out there. It doesn't take a doctorate to know these things, but I do expect our leaders to possess uncommon knowledge, especially on the workings of the government they wish to lead. But a possible leader of this great nation should be able to come up with something, specially if her office issued a statement on the Exxon ruling.

Just to reiterate I say no to "Joe Six-Pack". While field dressing a moose is a nifty skill to posses, it is no substitute for critical thinking skills. Charm is no replacement for critical thinking. That people will choose folksy over solid reasoning is the reason we have the mess we see today in this country.

I say again, Gov. Palin you are correct. I do expect my leaders to be smarter then I. I do expect them to have a width and breadth of knowledge that exceeds that of the common man. I expect them to be able to discourse on a wide variety of subject in regards to governance, whether it be economic principles, or energy policy, or how the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand impacted the 20th century. If you can not do that, you are not qualified to hold a position as mayor let alone President. I don't care if you are a woman or a man, black or white if you can't hold you own intellectual weight, you do not deserve the privilege of Presidency.

-cheers