Monday, February 8, 2010

Why Do Some Like Their Leaders Average?

Something has been eating at me for the past few years and I’m angry enough to write about it publicly tonight.

As a sports talk show host – what the hell do I know about politics right? Well, I take them quite seriously as my father has been involved in them for my whole life. I debate for a living so politics are a natural for me.

I should thank Sarah Palin for the crystallization of my thoughts on this topic cause I now know what I want to ask of my country…..and I’m serious here but:

Why do some people want to elect leaders that they think are exactly the same as them?

Maybe a better way to ask it is why are some so insecure in this country that they can not stand to think that someone else is smarter, better prepared, or better suited to lead our country? The “average” person in this country is a wonderful thing, but I don’t want “average” running the greatest nation on earth. I want "elite". 

I watched a large part of Sarah Palin’s speech at the “Tea Party” convention in Nashville this weekend and was astounded at the boorish nature of her accusations.  Her wanna-be folky talk was insulting at best, dishonest at worst. All anger and bashing, no recommendations on how to fix our country.

Speaking to people who paid $600 to listen to her speak so she could get a $100k speaking fee which she says will be put back into the “Tea Party” isn’t exactly going on 60 Minutes. No tough questions coming.

Palin's other outlet for nonsense speak is Fox News - the now media wing for radical conservatives like Palin, Beck, and Hannity.  It’s time for us "liberal elites" to start name-calling back. These "American" people are "radicals" who hide behind the American flag because they think they are more “American” than me. American by their own definition of course. If I'm a "liberal" - Fox followers are "radicals" who enjoyed watching the last 8 horrendous years cause we had someone to go blow up. 

These "radicals" love the label of “elite” too. It always seems to get a round of applause with a certain segment of middle aged, white Americans who they recruit. You know who I’m talking about - the ones who elected George W. Bush to two terms because they felt like he was going to lead our country into a time warp so Ronald Reagan could climb out of the grave to read us all bedtime stories.

Then after 911, these same white Americans felt like the “Cowboy” was the safer pick for our highest office cause they felt like they could have a beer with him. Don't get me started on 2000 but 2004 was just as bad in my book.  

And now we have Sarah Palin.

A former governor of a tiny population state who quit before the ethics scandal exploded in her face. The women who said she wanted to sell the state plane on EBay but actually used it to fly her daughter around the country on the taxpayer dime. It gets better now as the Governor’s husband was involved in major state decisions as well according to released emails.   

I was very scared when George W. Bush was elected for another term in 2004. I vividly remember thinking that in 2008, we were all going to look back and ask, “How the F did we let that happen?”

And we did and still wonder it today in 2010. Look how much damage we are still cleaning up. I’m not going to argue about Obama here, he’s made plenty of mistakes in year one – but the guy really was handed a bag of crap from day 1.    

But back to the point of this - when someone as dim as Sarah Palin said that Obama is like a law professor lecturing the country, all I could think of was: So what!? That makes him a bad President or leader? Because he wants to educate the public on an argument by using facts rather than scaring people with inaccurate threats?

Girlfriend - you had to write NOTES ON YOUR HAND and you are saying that the President can’t talk without a telepromter? Did you miss the two live Q and A sessions he did with lawmakers? At least he didn’t know what questions were coming like you do in your “interviews”.

Are some so insecure in this nation that we can’t listen to someone who might be smarter than us? Excuse me, but I want my President to be smarter than me. I want my President to know more than me. I want my President to more stable than me in the face of the crazy world.  

I truly believe that Obama is one of the top minds in our nation at the moment. The guy is so calm, so cool under fire that I think people are afraid of him because of it. They are afraid of a guy, who happens to be black, who appears so confident. They think it’s fake.

So they fall for a true fake like Sarah Palin. Someone who claims “What do you read?” is a “Gotcha” question from the media. Someone who writes down talking points on her hand like a fifth grader cheating on a math test. Someone who hides behind Facebook to control her message and is only concerned for “her brand”.

Sarah Palin is not very bright. She’s cunning and maniacal, motivated by her own personal gain rather than this country. She can’t even keep her arguments straight when she draws a line in the sand like she did with the “F’ing Retard” controversy. 

I’m a successful, middle class white male. I’m the demo that Obama has struggled with recently but I have always been 100% behind him from the first time I heard him speak about his ideas. But that’s me…. what scares me are the people that think Sarah Palin should or even could be President.

If someone can tell me one thing that she has done that has looked “presidential” in her time since she was plucked from obscurity – please share. John McCain chose her because she was in the right place at the right time, not because she was the right pick for our country.  We should always remember that. We would never have heard of her without that monumental mistake.

Obama was a Senator and CHOSE to run for the highest office. He was vetted. This Right Wing creation - she is a nightmare of epic incompetence. 

I really hope one day I figure out why people want their leaders to be on the same level as they are but then again – this is America. We haven’t always been right in the way we do business.

According to the Fox News "radicals" - that statement means I'm a traitor. 

11 comments:

Danny said...

I'm no where near as liberal as you and might disagree with things in this post, but I think the main issue is how have "normal" (not "radical") Republicans not spoken out against her? I have tons of Republican friends that are as embarrassed by Palin as you or I am angered, but no leader will come out and tell her to shut up. Baffling, really.

http://www.slate.com/id/2244062/

Unknown said...

Wow, Matt, you hit it on the head. I have been feeling a growing anger in exactly the same way. I, too, was SHOCKED when W was voted in a 2nd time. Sarah Palin scared me, well, not actually her, but those who would vote her as our leader! I think you are on to something with your thoughts about voting for someone just like us. That makes sense.

I hope to read more of your thoughts soon. The Hannitys, Limbaughs, etc. of this nation are aim at the scared middle-class white man with an "us against them" attitude as well as a "I got mine, so screw you!" attitude. Unbelievable. And frustrating.

Unknown said...

I've come to the realization that Palin isn't going away. My only hope is she doesn't end up going with some splinter 3rd party. I really don't see how she wins the Republican nomination. Moderates will absolutely flock to the polls in the primaries to vote against her.

With that said, she was just as qualified and ready for the position as President Obama, so that argument against has always been hypocritical. Neither one has shown that they are ready for such a big stage.

Politics has gotten to be so disheartening. I'm like you Matt, I expect my leaders to be better than the average American. I'm beginning to think those type of people are too smart to put up with all the crap that would go with a campaign.

I've FINALLY found a political candidate running for governor in Alabama that I can really get behind, whose candidacy I'm very enthusiastic about and plan on supporting his campaign financially and in other ways. Artur Davis is smart enough to consider what Bob Riley has done right and continue building on that even though Davis is a Democrat and Riley is a Republican. He's also pushing constitutional reform for this state, which is SOOO anti-establishment but has to be done. Furthermore, he's been brave enough to vote against the awful health care plan in Congress that's has pissed off some state Democrats, but he puts what is right ahead of partisan politics. My hope is he wins the race and aspires to hold national office some day.

Brettwurst said...

Good post, Perrault.

Jen said...

John McCain didn't even know who Sarah Palin was when he chose her. Anyone who thinks Sarah is qualified to even run in 2012 needs to read _Game Change_. I cannot believe she is still even in the conversation. She is going to hurt her party more than help them in the long run.

I have been a supporter of Obama since the first time I heard him speak, but it is more than just talk. Obama is intelligent but doesn't talk down to people or belittle them. Sarah doesn't have the "smarts" but still is condescending with her "hopey feely" banter.

Can I call you, Joe? Yeah. She couldn't properly say Biden's last name. . .kept calling him O'Biden. That's who I wanted to be one step away from the presidency. Right.

Like many "politicians", however, I am fascinated by the spectacle that is Sarah Palin. It's like watching a train wreck. What will she do or say next?

Anonymous said...

Obama is one of the greatest minds in America? Bwahahaha!!!! Not even close. He's not even a good leader. If he was a good leader, he'd be able to roll his agenda through a super-majority with ease. He's nothing more than a liberal idealogue.

I'm not calling Bush a good leader because he wasn't. I really don't much care for Sarah Palin. If you really want to know why Bush won, look who he ran against? Al Gore?

There are few people in our government whom I would label as "our nation's brightest". Nancy Pelosi? Barney Frank? Harry Reid? Bush? Obama? Palin? Ben Nelson? I wouldn't hire any of them to run a medium-sized business, let alone run the greatest country on earth.

Americans are angry and there will be a huge political revolt. Scott Brown is a pretty good indicator of what's going to happen.

I think we are all frustrated with the system, from conservative to liberal and everything in between. As a libertarian/fiscal conservative, I've been frustrated longer than most.

It may be too late. The way were spending, this country is out of control. The pendulum will swing to the middle, right where it should be. The Bushbots will be put in their place. The Obamamaniacs will be equally put. That's really our only "hope and change" (no pun intended)to fix America before it's too late. Bush/Obama are too different ideologies, that's for sure. They do have a common theme: EPIC FAIL!

Anonymous said...

You aren't a traitor because of your comments. I agree that Palin is a joke. However, you would have to be a lunatic to the nth degree to think that Democrats OR Republicans care about people in this nation. They cater to special interest groups and are after their own agenda.

It may not start in that manner, but Washington politics have lost their moral compass.

Blaming W. is so yesterday! Democrats in Congress are just as much to blame.

Unknown said...

Matt,

Wow, this is one of the first times I have ever agreed with you!

It's not just Repubs or Dems, it is the system that is failing us. It's not just one single person. It's easy for someone like Obama to come along and mezmerize a bunch of Americans with some great public speaking and some catchy phrase. Americans are desperate.

This country needs a staunch fiscal conservative in a bad way at the moment. The economy should be the #1 concern. Healtcare needs to be reformed, sure, but it doesn't need the government to overtake it and control 1/6th of the American economy. I don't believe in man-made global warming, but we need to keep researching and take measures to make the Earth more clean. We don't need to pass a bill that crushes out any business who can't afford to meet regulation in this economy. All these things need to be dealt with, they just need to be dealt with using logic and at a time when we as a country can afford to do it.

Sarah Palin...I don't really care for her, as I said before. I think the way she has been attacked is nothing short of crazy. She's not dumb, that's for sure. I'm not going to say she's some sort of academic elite though either. She's not going to be president, she'll be a political pundit from here on out at best. There's no reason to smeer her anymore.

As far as Fox News go, I like Fox News. Why? Because they don't buy into the liberal elite media. People like Dan Rather have been bending the truth to the left for years. In fact, Rather got fired for it. MSNBC leans left, Fox leans right. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Keith Olbermann IS Glenn Beck. I personally listen to political programming on a lot of networks, even MSNBC. I probably spend mmost of the time on CNN.

America will get better once we decide to be fiscally conservative. The Bush administration wasn't. The Obama admin sure as hell isn't. The other issues can come. Things like gay marriage and abortion should come later. Personally, the states should decide both issues, not the federal government.

Anonymous said...

When you were in Omaha and I was commenting on the message board daily...we disagreed all the time. However, I couldn't agree more with your position here.

Palin's popularity is "Jon & Kate" ish at best. I refer to her regularly as a "freak show on wheels" much to the dismay of my GOP friends. I'm as liberal as they come and always will be.
GOP Chairman Steele refers to Republican Senators by saying they "drink the Potomac River water" and then quickly change clothes in a phone booth and immerge as themselves, far removed from being a conservative leader.

I happen to agree. Reagan was a Republican leader that I supported. There is no one on the conservative side I support presently. (Oddly I like Gary Sinise but that's another story) Obama will likely be a one term president. I've never seen a president be so blatantly screwed directly in the face of america in all my days of veiwing politics in my life. Great thoughts Matt.

Dwight Rowe, Severn, MD

Anonymous said...

Sarah Palin is the biggest joke in politics and Obama would be the 2nd biggest joke. Most of the problems that Bush caused can be turned around. The changes Obama wants to make are going to cause some SERIOUS long term issues. Bush and the republicans of 2000-2006 had out of control spending. Obama and the democrats are spending like Bush on crack.

I just HOPE that there is someone decent to vote for in 2012 because right now it's a pretty weak field. I'd like to see Paul Ryan from Wisconsin run but I have a feeling we'll see someone older and more experienced. After 4 years of Obama the voters will want someone with a clue this time around.

Unknown said...

Why do some like their leaders average? It's because we choose to vote for average, and accept average, when we can't achieve it ourselves.

If we worked on accepting "more than average" out of ourselves in the areas of our lives, then we can asking for above average from our leaders. We've gotten too complacent in accepting "as is" and not much else.