"When a candidate for public office faces the voters, he does not face men of sense; he faces a mob of men whose chief distinguishing mark is the fact that they are quite incapable of weighing ideas, or even of comprehending any save the most elemental--men whose whole thinking is done in terms of emotion, and whose dominant emotion is dread of what they cannot understand. So confronted, the candidate must either bark with the pack or be lost. All the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre--the man who can most adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum. The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
- H. L. Mencken, in the Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920
Sometimes I wonder where you did this stuff up! An Article from 1920? Wow! :)
Posted by: Todd | November 10, 2004 at 04:21 PM
Ah, Mencken -- the first libertarian, and the last word in cynical, spot-on political commentary. Another fine example: "I do not believe in democracy, but I am perfectly willing to admit that it provides the only really amusing form of government ever endured by mankind."
Posted by: Bonnie | November 10, 2004 at 08:58 PM
Well, it's as good an explanation as any.
Posted by: Nell | November 10, 2004 at 09:51 PM
See, though, the really scary part is that Dubya is NOT a moron. My guess is that he has the attention span of a gnat, and he probably is learning disabled, but he has mastered the Art of the Lowered Expectation by making many people think that he's a complete doofus. (It doesn't hurt that this Yalie with Connecticut roots has managed to pick up a Texas you-all accent that you could spread on bread. Notice how Brother Jeb doesn't sound like that?) Moron, no. Closed-minded, reactionary ideologue, yes.
Posted by: Bonnie | November 11, 2004 at 09:07 PM
Or as a comedian whose name I've just blanked on has said, "George Bush isn't stupid. Stupid is 'Oh my God, I just ate paint.'"
It seems that most people naturally want a leader whose policies can be broken down into 10-second sound bytes. If it takes more than two sentences to explain, they're not interested.
Posted by: Sarah | November 12, 2004 at 09:01 AM
No, Dubya isn't a moron, quite. But he's certainly a large step in the direction that Mencken predicted. It's quite the contradiction: On one hand, people expect the government to be perfect, but on the other, they want their elected officials to be "like us". Well, they've got their wish. For another four years our country will be represented and at least partially helmed by a man with mediocre intelligence, a conviction that his opinions continue to be right no matter the evidence to the contrary, and no evident capacity for original thought.
Posted by: David | November 12, 2004 at 05:29 PM
Another of Mencken's comments i particularly like is this:"To every complicated question, there is a simple answer - which is usually wrong."
Posted by: Pa Bear | November 15, 2004 at 09:04 AM
Having recently purchased a new vacumn, perhaps the change is in the quality of such an instrument? My new Dyson and the current administration seem to be superior in terms of their suction!
Anne
Posted by: annestor | November 26, 2004 at 01:34 PM