Thinking about Palin
Following on the previous...
I think it is long past time that we accept the idea that not everyone is qualified to be President. I'm certainly not. Most everyone I know certainly is not. And I suspect most everyone I meet in my day-to-day life is not.
Being President is hard (to quote George W. Bush). The idea that anyone can run for the office, win it and then be good at it is one of those American myths we tell ourselves but which bear no relationship to reality. There's a reason why Matt Damon made the analogy to a Disney movie when talking about Palin's candidacy. It's because such things only happen in the movies (we hope).
Just think what being President involves. You are in charge of the largest bank account in the world. You have the more weapons at your disposal than the rest of the world combined. Your every word is monitered 24/7 by millions of interested parties, all looking for that subtle hint that will tell them what they should do to further their plans to conquer the world (or at least their little scrap of it). With a bad turn of phrase you can sink markets, devastate the lives of thousands, and scar the face of the planet for centuries to come.
And we want to perpetuate the idea that Joe the Plumber could handle that job? The idea that Joe could become President shouldn't make our hearts swell at the possibilities America offers. It should make us shudder at what would inevitably follow.
Just consider this: as much as Bush has fucked things up, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. As out of his element as he was, he was still more qualified to be President than most of the people you meet in your daily lives.
The Onion headline after Obama was elected was, "Black Man Given World's Worst Job."
Let's just hope he's up to it.
I think it is long past time that we accept the idea that not everyone is qualified to be President. I'm certainly not. Most everyone I know certainly is not. And I suspect most everyone I meet in my day-to-day life is not.
Being President is hard (to quote George W. Bush). The idea that anyone can run for the office, win it and then be good at it is one of those American myths we tell ourselves but which bear no relationship to reality. There's a reason why Matt Damon made the analogy to a Disney movie when talking about Palin's candidacy. It's because such things only happen in the movies (we hope).
Just think what being President involves. You are in charge of the largest bank account in the world. You have the more weapons at your disposal than the rest of the world combined. Your every word is monitered 24/7 by millions of interested parties, all looking for that subtle hint that will tell them what they should do to further their plans to conquer the world (or at least their little scrap of it). With a bad turn of phrase you can sink markets, devastate the lives of thousands, and scar the face of the planet for centuries to come.
And we want to perpetuate the idea that Joe the Plumber could handle that job? The idea that Joe could become President shouldn't make our hearts swell at the possibilities America offers. It should make us shudder at what would inevitably follow.
Just consider this: as much as Bush has fucked things up, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. As out of his element as he was, he was still more qualified to be President than most of the people you meet in your daily lives.
The Onion headline after Obama was elected was, "Black Man Given World's Worst Job."
Let's just hope he's up to it.
posted by Chris Andersen at 11:26 AM
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