Elite

Some time after the invasion of Iraq (IIRC) Dennis Miller came out on the "Tonight Show" and made a joke saying the president of the United States isn't the guy on the "West Wing." I guess the idea was that people who think that an agressive stance is wrong aren't really connected to reality. But what I immediately thought was "You got that right, the guy from the 'West Wing' was smart; Bush is an idiot."

So what would the smartest president (he won the Nobel prize) say to the current Democratic candidate? The NY Times' Maureen Dowd called "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin, to get an idea what Bartlet might say to Obama. He laments the fact that "elite" is treated like it's a bad thing.

Because the idea of American exceptionalism doesn’t extend to Americans being exceptional. If you excelled academically and are able to casually use 690 SAT words then you might as well have the press shoot video of you giving the finger to the Statue of Liberty while the Dixie Chicks sing the University of the Taliban fight song. The people who want English to be the official language of the United States are uncomfortable with their leaders being fluent in it.

Which is why Sarah Palin's popularity is disturbing. Her recent interview with Katie Couric was so stupid that Tina Fey just needed to quote it almost verbatim to get laughs. 

The better alternative comes from another intelligent show. Monty Python's Michael Palin might make a better vice-president. Say n'more!