Joined: Jul 2002 Posts: 488 Location: Cincinnati, OH Highscores:1 Thanks: 0 Thanked: 13 times in 11 posts
Gender:
Unreason, anti-intellectualism, & anti-rational in the n
It might be fun to pick out some of the issues Jacoby discusses from current new stories.
Regarding intellectuals and the Presidency, here's one about Obama.
Quote:
Obama, electability and the backyard barbeque factor
We had three glimpses into Obama's personality this week which may convey the impression to some that he's a prissy intellectual. Prissy intellectuals from Adlai Stevenson to Michael Dukakis don't become president.
Even George McGovern, a World War II B-24 bomber pilot with 35 missions, couldn't overcome his image as a Ph.D. history professor.
Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 3712 Location: Berryville, Virginia
Thanks: 629 Thanked: 501 times in 403 posts
Gender: Country:
A lack of the common touch is deadly for a politician, probably has been this way for a long while. It did seem that the Kennedys succeeded in having it both ways to an extent, that is promoting culture while still projecting that informality and sports interest that Americans like to see (remember their touch football games?) But the image of the commoner that comes from way back in our history is much more viable in politics. Putting on airs by acting conspicuously intelligent can doom a candidate. There is also relentless pressure ever since the TV age began for every candidate to "show his human side", meaning show us how very much like us he is. Remember Bill Clinton telling the MTV audience that he wore boxers?
Joined: Oct 2007 Posts: 2553 Images: 3 Location: Cheshire, England
Thanks: 144 Thanked: 273 times in 224 posts
Gender: Country:
Isn't it a shame that we cannot bring ourselves to support those who have a better education and who have the ability to think.
Being educated doesn't mean that you have the capacity to 'think'...but there are those....admirable people who have been educated....who can compare history....and foreign cultures....and have the privilidge of a birds-eye view on the present situation.....and, sometimes, they have compassion.....
But we can't bring ourselves to trust them......
I do keep wondering what is the matter with us!
I think we have begun to admire people for the wrong reasons.....if they have nice teeth....if they are well dressed and are charismatic......Oh, the media are responsible for so much.......I saw them destroy a wonderful man here in England....his name was Anthony Wedgewood Benn.....the newspapers destroyed him.....by saying he was a lunatic....but I used to read what he wrote and think, 'well, I must be a lunatic too', because I agreed with everything he said. He was a man in favour of moral rearmament....that is an old fashioned phrase now. Please think about this....this is the power of the media. And why Rupert Murdoch is a man to be reckoned with.
Yes, DWill, I keep waiting for someone to ask Hilary if she wears boxers or briefs! Or maybe she'll play the saxophone on Jay Leno. Or Chelsea will dance for us. Nothing should surprise us anymore.
Mrs. McCain has her own private jet and Anheuser/Busch and millions. I'll bet she's a boxer lady.
And Penny, I do think we should have candidates who are smarter than we are, don't you (I sure hope they'e smarter than I am)? The common man is common - do we really want him for a President? But, as DWill mentioned, literacy does not go over too well with the American public. Hence, we have bowling, basketball and shot-drinking soundbites pervading the media. If they really are trying to appeal to everyone, I wonder why none of the candidates have yet endorsed the legalization of pot, lowering the age of consent, or cock-fighting? Something for everyone, right?
There's a real elephant in the room here in America - and nobody is addressing it, but it will come up eventually. O'Bama is getting up to 90% of the black vote while getting a large portion of the white vote as well. Clinton is getting a large portion of the white vote, but very little of the black vote. Do all of the blacks really think that O'Bama is that much more qualified than Clinton, or are they voting for him simply because he is black? I think it's the latter. If all the blacks voted for O'Bama (which they are largely doing) and all the whites voted for Clinton (which they are not doing), she would win by a landslide.
I remember when I first joined the Navy - I had had very little inter-action with blacks up to that time. But I remember vividly going to the chow hall and noticing that it was probably 90% white and 10% black, and that all the blacks, as they came into the hall, got their food and immediately went over to the table where the other blacks were sitting. That's a natural instinct, don't you think? And I think that's why the blacks are voting for O'Bama - they're going to the table where the black man is sitting.
These are huge generalizations; I know there are blacks who consider the issues and just prefer O'Bama, just as there are a smaller number of blacks who consider the issues and prefer Clinton. But 80 or 90% for O'Bama?
If Clinton was getting up to 90% of the white (or non-black) vote, I wonder what the pundits would be saying. I think it would then be out in the open - we are a racist nation. Still.
Of course we admire people for all the wrong reasons. Today's politicians must be charismatic, TV friendly, and all things to all people. I have heard it said many times that Abraham Lincoln could never be elected today. That's a real shame; we just can't get past the facade.
Enough, already. How was your holiday, Penny? And you never did say just how you did at the races.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
The 12th Disciple is now being
stocked at Poor Richard's
Bookstore in Colorado Springs.
We're happy to have the
title at such a historic
location in Colorado Springs.
If… more
For most of us, a very big
part of our lives will be a
dark place, we wont realize
it. We live, we eat, we have
some fun, we go to school, we
sleep. But it will come the
time, when… more
The 12th Disciple's
endorsement for a Presidential
Candidate...we'll pass.
If many haven't learned
over the past several decades,
centuries, and millennia, the
gover… more
So I've been looking for
new books to read, but I
haven't found any that
have caught my attention
lately. I want to try and
venture out into a different
genre, but I'… more
For those who constantly gripe
about jobs being sent
overseas, focus your anger on
this. Read about how one of
the most profitable companies
prided by American citizens
offshores t… more
Its January 1945 and British,
Commonwealth, US and POWs from
various other nationalities
are finally awaiting
liberation from the various
camps in Eastern Europe, where
some of the… more
A good friend of mine recently
received a pre-paid credit
card. She went to pay for a
$20.00 gas purchase only to
later find out that over a
$70.00 hold was placed on her
card for… more
While watching the bube tube
(TV) this morning I stumbled
on a motivational speaker
saying “today marks a new
year, you now have a blank
canvas to work from.”
The 12th Disciple wishes you
and yours a Happy New Year.
Many of us hope and pray that
2012 will bring better
leadership in the government
of the United States, better
leadership i… more
The Cat & The
Nightingale Saga, the docu
drama version of The Weekend
Trippers, also tells Rifleman
Ted TaylorÂ’s story but in a
slightly different way. It too
tells of the… more
In 2011 I published my book;
in the book I outlined 9 Key
Principles to Prosperity
(happiness). Like
many of you, I walked through
2011 with the Woe is me
attitude. When… more
More and more these days I see
people using social media to
quote what someone else has
said. I see people posting
their favorite rappers lyrics,
lines from movies and what
seems t… more
IÂ’m down the school for the
first time today. My friend
visited two weeks ago and said
it was chaos. They must have
heard I was back
because everything is tidy and
orderly today… more
I'm quite positive that
everyone who enters this site
has the same thing in mind:
fear of seeing a world without
books, without literature. We
see it everyday, more people
qui… more
For once in my life I step off
the plane at Banjul, and
donÂ’t get a rush of elation.
I went home to see my
daughterÂ’s twins safely
delivered. They are all well
now, but IÂ’m goin… more
Last weekend I witnessed a
couple of family members
literally fall apart at the
seams because of a problem
with a couple of their
employees. They recently
opened a group home, and
… more
Tell your friends when to meet you in the BookTalk.org Chat Room.
Booktalk.org on Facebook
If you enjoy business bestsellers and would like to expand your business knowledge check out the quality book summaries offered by the world's leading book summary company.
BookTalk.org is a free book discussion group or online reading group or book club. We read and talk about both fiction and non-fiction books as a group. We host live author chats where booktalk members can interact with and interview authors. We give away free books to our members in book giveaway contests. Our booktalks are open to everybody who enjoys talking about books. Our book forums include book reviews, author interviews and book resources for readers and book lovers. Discussing books is our passion. We're a literature forum, or reading forum. Register a free book club account today! Suggest nonfiction and fiction books. Authors and publishers are welcome to advertise their books or ask for an author chat or author interview.
Tweet This Topic
