FOX News’ “Marketing Expert” blogger John Tantillo asks an interesting question: “Is Obama Too Bright To Be President?”
I’m sorry, when I said “interesting,” I really meant “fucking mindblowing.”
He says that Obama is seeming too much like Carter and not enough like Roosevelt, and that he’s appearing too intelligent. You know, I started contributing to Hanlon’s Razor by writing satire, ridiculous scenarios that seemed funny in comparison to things happening in politics. There’s a reason I don’t even try writing satire anymore.
“Intelligence is not a bad thing, but a president should never put too much of it on display.”
See? I can’t fucking top that.
Tantillo actually argues that showing too much intelligence and deliberation is a weakness for a president. Now, to be fair, he’s a marketing guy, and is addressing the subject almost entirely as a branding and framing issue. While skeevy in application, it’s a pretty honest approach for what he is: a marketer. He’s approaching this subject from an angle that I can at least professionally understand, even if I don’t agree with it. None of that crazy bullshit Beck and O’Reilly throw up. I guess that’s why he’s a blogger and doesn’t have his own show.
However, he’s wrong that Obama should hide his intelligence by any measure. Frankly, these are different times, and the dynamics of communication are much, much different than the days of the fireside chat. We deal with 24-hour news cycles, dozens or televised news outlets, and hundreds of online news sources. Obama can’t hide his deliberations because there simply isn’t any place to hide them.
After nearly a decade under Bush, a genuinely intelligent and deliberative leader seems bizarre and alien. Similarly, that Obama has been so open in his decisionmaking is a pretty jarring change over Dick Secretive and The Decider. We’re also in the middle of one of the biggest economic crises in decades, and that means the president has twice as many nervous eyes on his every move. I understand that much of the newsmedia is completely unfamiliar with how to deal with this sort of thing, and that the American public doesn’t know how to react, either. An intelligent president who considers options and is open to other ideas? A president who will actually change his mind if he’s given sufficient reason? It’s unheard of, especially in the gnats’ attention span of the media.
Obama shouldn’t worry about branding right now, and he certainly shouldn’t be hiding the fact that he’s intelligently thinking things through. We’ve had eight years of the headstrong fuckwit driving us into the ground because he’s too arrogant to consider that he might be wrong. It’s the time to embrace a president who has more brains than balls, and is willing to change his mind.
Hey, don’t forget how much praise Bush got for his “folksy” demeanor. We’re in a day and age where we want our president to be just “one of the guys”.
Remember when Obama was “too fit” to be president? My goodness, a smart and athletic president, we can’t have that!
Dear Hanlon,
Thanks for you “fair and balanced” critique of my blog. You really got it. I am a marketing guy and am trying to look at politics from a markting perspective and you clearly understand this. For this I am most grateful. And you also found my appreciation of our leader President Obama possessing intelligence. My issue is that many folks don’t like it if one promotes it too much. We like smart people who are modest of this great gift! Once again thanks for picking up my post and I will have another post ready for you and your readers eyes sometime next week. Think Europe and the President! Stay tuned. And remember It’s always easier (even politics) when you have marketing in mind! All the best, JT
John,
First off, damn. I’m surprised to see you respond here. Never figured my little nook on the web would attract much attention from any of the various targets of our well-honed blogosphere rage. So, welcome and thanks for writing!
Now then, I didn’t write the post, so I don’t claim to be speaking for Will right now, but you have to understand our frustration with your (I begrudingly admit, correct) assessment. This is a rare instance where a quote like that makes my head explode not because it’s “your claim”, but because it’s a statement that reflects a painful reality.
The only spot where I can disagree is that I don’t necessarily think it’s a matter of modesty, after all consider the surreal attacks on Obama because he was Harvard educated and the venom with which some people say phrases like “college educated”. I do think many have a negative opinion of people with fancy shmancy degrees, after all Bush lost his first gubernatorial bid because he was attacked as a Yale-educated nancy boy. Trade his mortarboard for a cowboy hat and suddenly he’s a political superstar.
I do agree that flaunting one’s intelligence is a big problem and you’ll look like a jackoff if you start talking about your alma mater and such, but discussing issues in a nuanced and in-depth manner can’t necessarily be a bad thing, can it?
Then again, I’m a political idealist and you’re a marketing guy. We approach things rather differently. Might explain why the guy I supported for president (Kucinich) never seemed to crack much above the “margin of error” range in the polls!
[...] practiced employment of intelligence glorified in public entertainment (if not politics). This entry was written by Hans, posted on December 29, 2009 at 22:27, filed under culture and [...]