Gore Too Smart to be President?

The Washington Post put out an article the other day entitled "Is It Wise to Be so Smart?" in which they explain that while Al Gore is "still be the smartest guy in the room" and "Gore practically oozes gray matter," --he's probably too smart for us to be our president.

In a back-handed compliment sort of way, Gore has been posited as the anti-Bush. Where Bush is firm in his convictions Gore is "usually smart and sometimes prophetic - but, all too frequently, pedantic"

Said one of the listeners of a speech he made at George Washington University, “It's the biggest problem he's got, people don't want somebody who makes them feel stupid.” The writer seems to say that intelligence in a president is not welcomed--as if Americans want a president who they can feel superior to. As if that that's the American Way!

It's a good thing we have had dummies like Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt in the White House. Who knows what would have happened if we had some high-falutin' smartypants in there during the Civil War or the World Wars?

Maybe the love affair we have with celebrity is a testament to our need to be superior to others--don't most of us feel smarter than Paris, Michael, Lindsey, and Sanjaya? Maybe we need leaders who were previously seen on "Jerry Springer" or "America's Funniest Home Videos."

Or maybe, it is possible that the times we live in call for leaders who have the ability to synthesize information--to note that there is a relationship between increased CO2 emissions and global temperature elevation or that aluminum tubes can be used for more than making WMDs. Maybe we need a leader who seeks honest opinions from his advisors rather than for them to confirm what the president's position already is.

I know I enjoy feeling superior just as much as the next guy, but if the next guy happens to be of the caliber of Al Gore--I don't mind being above average.