For at least my entire life, our culture has had strong negative social reinforcement for intelligence.  This is probably less true now, post dot-com and the rise of the geeks, than it was when I was a kid.  But it still apparently dominates our national psychology.

So maybe someone from outside America can address this question: Is this fetish for leaders who paint themselves as dumb, uneducated, joe-sixpacks an American attribute?  Or is Europe like this too?  Canada?  My thought is that perhaps a country with a real educational system (rather than a football-and-babysitting service) might have a population that values education and intelligence rather than holding them in contempt.  But that's pure speculation on my part.

Before I finish getting ready to babysit until this Friday's football game, I just wanted to make a few observations.

I wonder if America's distaste for complex language and nuance doesn't stem from our school system. Teachers often make it a habit to use their college vocabularies in class in an effort to "educate by example." If students don't buy into education, won't they automatically transfer this dislike to other people that talk like their teachers did?

I'm not suggesting that teachers dumb down their language, (or babysitting would be too easy) I'm just thinking aloud here.

I also wanted to ask a question: Given this latest series on rhetorical devices, are you of the opinion that the great rhetorical speakers don't actually believe what their saying? I have always been cynical about the sincerity of politicians, but to view them as coldly manipulative as this article suggests makes me sad and tired.

(Incidentally, say what you'd like about public education. God knows I'm unhappy with it, too. But consider that it is the only profession not run by the professionals. Think about it.)

I have heard that the French President Sarkozy has stated " I'm not an intellectual".