George W. Bush was well known for talking "off the cuff" with a folksy demeanor. He was prone to ridicule by the left for both social and grammatical blunders. This attitude allowed him to connect to the average American. They were able to identify with his image, which is something that won him (in part) two terms in office.
President Obama has been criticized as being too "professorial" and isolated, lacking the skill to connect to the people the way that Bush did. In the book "Obama's Wars," journalist Bob Woodward described Obama as someone who thrived on knowing the nuanced detail of every plan, including alternatives and opposing opinions. It is this kind of detail that caused him to clash with top military brass when formulating a plan to expand troop levels in Afghanistan after the Bush Administration has essentially ignored a regrouped Taliban.
2012 is slowly approaching, and a couple of the candidates have stood out in their ability to be both folksy and spread egregiously erroneous information, which was a major skill of the Bush Administration.
Newly minted candidate Texas governor Rick Perry is well known for making "shoot-from-the-hip" remarks about topics he has no expertise in. Here are some ones to mull over:
1. Financial Crises and the Fed - Perry called Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's monetary policies treason. This was so outrageous that even Libertarian and well-known Federal Reserve detractor Ron Paul was made uncomfortable. The question that reporters should have asked Perry was: "What is the Federal Reserve?" I'm sure that would have generated some nice "uhhs" and "ummms."
2. Evolution - Perry called evolution an "theory" with "gaps." Setting aside anthropological, paleontological, archeological, geological and geographical data that has proven evolution, Perry, like most Evolution-haters, do not understand the nature of a "theory." Theories are, by definition, hypotheses that have been proven by observation. So, yes, Rick...Evolution is a theory.
3. Global Warming - Perry said that Global Warming is a scheme where data is manipulated by scientists in order to get higher pay. He calls it (once again falling into the "theory-hypothesis" trap) a "scientific theory that has not been proven." He is once against stirring up the "climategate" conspiracy theorists, who will nitpick any language to prove their point. He is like the Wizard, brushing the years of data collected by credible climatologists and atmospheric scientists with advanced degrees behind the curtain. There must be some sort of cadre of scientists who get together to think of ways to squeeze money out of the regular taxpayer. That is how we have Antibiotics, Antivirals, successful cancer treatment, large scale particle accelerators, nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, space travel, devices to capture energy from the sun, wind and the earth...well, the list goes on.
Michelle Bachmann, Tea Party favorite, has also released some fun sound bites that really showcase her intelligence (or lack thereof):
1. History - When she talked about the U.S. being a nation of individuals who were attracted by vast opportunity in a new land, she omitted one major group: slaves. Unfortunately, most of the economy of the Southern United States, for the first 100 years of U.S history was based on slave labor. Slaves did not come here because of opportunity - they were forced. There is nothing wrong with touting American greatness. But, the ultimate measure of greatness is how we treat those with the least freedom.
2. Oil - Bachmann said that, as president, she would return gas prices to $2/gallon. Then, she went on to criticize Obama by saying that Gas was $2/gallon when he started, and now it is close to $4/gallon, so his policies must have failed. I guess she might have forgot a little thing called the "Arab Spring?" Or, maybe she forgot when Oil hit its highest price after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast during the Bush Administration? Bachmann has no grasp of markets or economics related to Oil. I am not alleging that I am an economic expert, but Oil is such an important commodity because it reflects the market so well. It is very volatile. Bachmann also doesn't realize that she has no control over the majority of the oil we refine for gasoline. She cannot, by some sort of fiat or swish of a presidential wand, make gas $2/gallon. It is impossible.
3. Downgrade - When S&P downgraded the country, Bachmann criticized the Obama Admin. While this is not necessarily a "mistake," it is so completely idiotic that it makes the list. It was her TEA Party Caucus that gummed up the gears of the House of Representatives so that an 11th hour deal was inevitable. It was her stubborn orthodoxy that lead to an unbalanced deal that did not prove to S&P that the U.S. would reign in on its deficit. I bet she is buying some nice curtains for her glass house.
The president or presidential nominee must be able to identify with the American people. This is why Bush and now Perry and Bachmann have so many followers. But, the president must take responsibility for the ideas they put forward. When Rep Giffords was shot in Arizona, many criticized Sarah Palin's "crosshairs" map and "reload" rhetoric. Palin balked, showing that she has no tact and, like Perry and Bachmann, did not take responsibility for her rhetoric. While it is apparent that Jared Lee Loughner was mentally unstable, the point remains: influence translates to action.
In the case of Bachmann and Perry, that influence translates into a widespread adoption of ideas into the American lexicon that make a mockery of science, economics and history.
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