McCain or Obama

micky, to be fair, I have seen a lot of people on the internet that are shockingly elitist, and it's easy for the general Democratic sentiment of "Why can't you be more progressive?" to be interpreted as "Why can't you be better, like us?"

Many things about the last eight years in America have disturbed me, and one of the most subtle, yet profoundly detrimental, is the rise of anti-intellectualism. It's like being back in junior high, only with a weird secondary adolescence twist where being smart, intellectually curious, and well-informed makes a person a condescending, out-of-touch, latte-sipping elitist.

What the heck?

In 2000, America kinda-sorta elected the genial C-average guy they wanted to have a beer with over the smart, stiff policy wonk who kept droning on about a lockbox for the whopping budget surplus that's long gone. In 2004, they reelected that guy despite his dismal record, because this time the other guy was from the East Coast, didn't order the right kind of cheese on his Philly beefsteak, and liked to windsurf. That, and some nonsense involving band-aids with purple hearts.

Enough, already.

Electing a president of the last remaining superpower in the world is a lot more important than electing the junior high prom king. I want the smart guy in charge. I don't want another cowboy filled with steely-eyed resolve, ready to trust his gut instinct. We've had too many guts with lousy instincts in charge. It's time to give the brainiacs a chance. I want the smart guy. I want the guy with the patience to read tedious memos outlining complicated situations in torturous detail, the guy willing to sift through those facts and consult with expert advisors to reach a measured, thoughtful decision.

And I'm pretty sure that in this election, Barack Obama is that guy. On issues from the ill-advised Iraq war to the deregulation of the financial industry, his judgment has been proven sound. His policies are aimed at helping the struggling middle class. If nothing else, his VP pick of Joe Biden tells us he's serious. Sure, Joe's on the loquacious side, but he's a well-informed smart guy. Sarah Palin? Please! That gimmick alone is enough to make me mistrust John McCain's judgment. I don't care if she can field-dress a moose. If she were the leader of a rag-tag group of rebels in a post-apocalyptic society that skill might come in handy, but this isn't a Mad Max movie, and I don't want someone who believes that the world was created 6,000 years ago and humans and dinosaurs lived together anywhere near the White House.

Does that make me an elitist? I don't think so... but after the past eight years, I don't really care. Being the President of the United States of America is a very, very big responsibility. Let's try putting the smart guys in charge.

And let there be latte for all!