Notes from the Desk God bless America

Author: Scott Greene

It's Rosh Hashanah, the head of the Jewish New Year, and lately I feel like my "Jew horns" have been sticking out a bit. I just returned from a wedding in which the groom had to undergo counseling sessions to accept a half-Jewish Maid of Honor in his fiancé's bridal party. Ironically, the groom is a member of the Christian Reformed Church.

Then, I get back to discover that Vermont has a candidate for Governor who doesn't take too kindly to my type. The candidate, Cris Ericson, believes that the Jewish lawyers, government workers and social workers of the Green Mountain State commit rampant acts of discrimination against people with disabilities, and she vows to put an end to it if elected. Oh, and she supports the legalization of marijuana. She's running for governor of Vermont. God bless America.

Jew horns aside, under normal circumstances I would shrug off Ms. Ericson's platform as just another fruit from the diverse tree of democracy, another manifestation of the American dream. After all, she promises to build log cabins in the woods for war veterans who suffer from nervous disorders. How bad can she be? She might be a little out of touch, but this is America, we believe in freedom, and freedom means that you can run for Governor of Vermont if you get a few thousand signatures.

But then I saw Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's interview with CBS' Katie Couric - a must-see for anybody interested in politics, America, or top-notch reality TV - and promptly threw up a little bit in my mouth. As it turns out, you don't need any signatures to run for vice president. You really don't even need answers anymore, either. She was shallow, overwhelmed, and spoke for ten minutes without saying much of anything at all except that she'd have to get back to us when the puppet masters send her the next round of talking points and empty words to placate the ever-plummeting standards of our country's voting public.

Governor Palin did assure me that predator lenders and terrorists are bad, something I'm glad she was able to clear up for me. Yes, predator lenders and terrorists are bad, but I think she may be even worse. It isn't just because she makes Cris Ericson seem a little less irrational and a little more qualified. She's worse because too many Americans accept her limited knowledge of the world and even more limited knowledge of this country and call it leadership. She's worse because too many Americans defend her provincial levels of experience as humble roots, connected with the values of Main Street. And she's worse because half of the country prefers all of that to her opponent, who we call elitist because he was the editor of the Harvard Law Review and has heard of the Bush Doctrine.

A purgatory of political mediocrity has emerged in which we view ignorance as charm and intelligence as unwanted elitism. Why? Why shouldn't the President of the United States be the smartest person in the room? Why don't we hold the people who want the highest office in the land to the highest standards in the land? Presidential candidates should inspire us, not lower our expectations by dumbing down the questions that they can't answer. They should challenge us and unite us, not reinforce the divisive and intolerant qualities among us. Their interviews should make us want to vote, not vomit.

The American dream is alive, well and possibly one heartbeat away from the White House as we ring in the year 5769. God bless America