Palin is the ideal politician for people who don't care to pay to close attention to politics and political issues. No boring discussion of specifics or details. No excessive talk about plans. No evidence of intellectual curiosity about the problems we face. She is the perfect distilation of the divisive anti-intellectual attitudes that were solidified in the Republican base by her ideological forerunner, George W. Bush.

Because lots and lots of people are the same way. In the face of this boatload of complex and vexing problems in the economy and the world in general, its just too difficult for people to respond with the complexity that the situation demands. Its easier to respond to difficult complexities with vague simplicity. Palin is the ultimate sugar-coated easy answer, and plenty of Republicans don't want to look deeper than that.

Of course, people said that about Obama. However, those who did were the very same people who proved themselves incapable of seeing beyond skin-depth anyways, with Palin! They were, of course, even less interested in learning about his philosophy than they were in learning about hers, so its no surprise that they would conclude that Palin's persona trumped Obama's persona (since that was all that mattered to them anyways). Most commentators on both sides of the aisle at least agree that Obama has a firm grasp of the issues and intellectual depth, even if they vehemently disagree with his policies. Even Palin's strongest supporters don't say that about her, not that it matters to them. Palin supporters are more likely to talk about her "values" and "attitude" than her insights or ideas.

Nice post, Scmidt. I totally agree.

I came across this post the other night over at The Atlantic. They were parsing Douthat's article on Palin and the "Democratic" v."Meritocratic" ideal, and I think it's a well written extension of what you're saying. I wish I'd written it:

"A better contrast would be between the American Dream vs. the American Fantasy. The American Dream is the story of how equal opportunity, combined with innate ability, hard work, and meritocratic competition is the path to success or at least a better future and a decent measure of happiness. The American Fantasy, on the other hand, is a kind of rags to riches story where little or no time, effort, and personal resources need be brought to bear to get from point A to point B. Instead, the American Fantasy is the classic Cinderella story, the person who wins the lottery, the victor on “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” who gets lucky and takes home the whole million, the man or woman who is plucked from obscurity and becomes an overnight celebrity. The hero of the American Fantasy need have no innate ability and need not have worked a day in their life. In fact, it’s often the hero’s or heroine’s complete absence of merit that makes this particular fantasy so emotionally compelling.

Sarah Palin is a classic example of the American Fantasy narrative. Think about it. An obscure first term governor of minimal intelligence and almost no accomplishments under her belt is plucked from obscurity by a rich and powerful benefactor and thrust into the national spotlight. Overnight, she becomes the talk of the nation, icon to a struggling movement, and the most captivating politician in decades. There’s even talk that she should be the one to complete the task that her original benefactor (McCain) was chosen to perform. Yet she can’t put her past completely behind her, as no heroine in this kind of narrative can. Her detractors from back home are out to get her, as are the powerful rivals of her original benefactor, rivals whose elitist attitudes blind them to the heroine’s innate virtue. In the end, the heroine of the American Fantasy must sever ties to those she left behind, and must prove to all that she is deserving of having been plucked from obscurity in the first place.

We’re living in an era where the opportunities to live out the American Dream have been disappearing at an alarming rate. The result is that American Fantasy has come to dominate America’s culture and media landscape in the past 15 years. Most reality TV and game shows are a derivative of the American Fantasy narrative. Sarah Palin’s emergence on the national scene is just the latest example. In contrast to the emergence of Barack Obama — whose story has been democratic, meritocratic, and a model example of the American Dream — Sarah Palin’s story has been none of those things. And when you acknowledge the existence of the American Fantasy as a contrasting narrative to the American Dream, it starts making a lot more sense why Obama and Palin are perfect foils for each other."

As much as I did not like Bush or his policies, I think he is done a great disservice to compare his anti-intellectualism to Palin's. Palin does not seem to listen to anyone but herself. I thought that Bush at least seemed to understand his limitations and sought out others who were more knowledgeable. Unfortunately, he just chose the wrong people, in my opinion.

Davelias12 ,

A lucid and superb observation, whoever wrote it. Do you have the link for it?

If forced to pick (in some kind of hellish game) between another Bush presidency or a Palin presidency, I would rather suffer Bush. Anti-intellectual as he may have been, his dependence on gut instinct and faith (opposed to facts) in his policymaking was more of a personal trait than it was a guiding philosophy, as it is with Palin.

White Camry:

It's in here somewhere:

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