tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36404602.post6719827004536677169..comments2023-10-26T05:08:20.977-04:00Comments on Connecting.the.Dots: Is Smart Enough?ROBERT STEINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11999996852219220599noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36404602.post-48707205333800134262009-01-14T12:35:00.000-05:002009-01-14T12:35:00.000-05:00Despite the renewed emphasis on "smart," I don't e...Despite the renewed emphasis on "smart," I don't expect significant change in our body politic. The hard-right wing, still "smarting" from an election loss and bereft of ideas, will try to hamper administration initiatives, and cheer every gaffe and failure.<BR/><BR/>Sarah-Palin-who-refuses-to-go-gently and the Joe-the-Plumber-cum-war-correspondent are examples of dumbness that still pervades our political life. More than dumbness, I equate it with residual McCarthyism in the Republican Party that refuses to go away ... along with Coulter, Limbaugh, Savage, et. al. These will remain the same.(O)CT(O)PUShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07589336822561030860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36404602.post-7171036240712236512009-01-14T12:21:00.000-05:002009-01-14T12:21:00.000-05:00I think by "smart" most folks are using short-hand...I think by "smart" most folks are using short-hand for "not blinkered". But youre point is very well taken. Smart alone isn't enough. wise, perhaps?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36404602.post-21836634705244139322009-01-14T11:34:00.000-05:002009-01-14T11:34:00.000-05:00That Kristof quote applies well to Canada's Libera...That Kristof quote applies well to Canada's Liberal party leader - an "intellectual" who supported the Iraq invasion and can't bring himself to give a mea culpa without qualification. I could say the same about my country's Prime Minister, but then he's no intellectual.<BR/>Maybe Team Obama is punching up the "smart" angle to contrast themselves with the anti-intellectual (Palin) wing of the GOP. If so, it's a pretty good dig.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10183891839987655906noreply@blogger.com