The U.S. electorate overwhelmingly doesn't like candidates with even a whiff

[cali]

Last edited Tue Aug 18, 2015, 09:48 AM - Edit history (2)

of intellectualism. The vast majority of voters want "smart" but hate "eggheads". They want smart they can relate to. Intellectually driven people in our culture are considered out of touch no matter how well they actually connect with people. And intellectuals have a history of being associated with communism. That may seem outdated and quaint, but communism is still a big boogeyman here.

In part, this rich vein of anti-intellectual sentiment, explains the popularity of trump. People think, "he just like me, if I was rich."

[monmouth4]

1. Every word is true, true, true.....n/t

[Nitram]

2. Right on the money.

Other problems with eggheads:

1. Speak in gobbledygook (use difficult words like "nuance" and "metaphor&quot .

2. Think years of intensive study of a particular topic means they know more about that topic than the average person.

3. Sound like they think they are better than everyone else.

4. Read too many books, newspapers, etc. - don't know what's going on in the real world.

5. Don't place love of country above all else.

[SCantiGOP]

3. don't want to get in an argument, but

I can't think of any facts to back up this seemingly reasonable sounding statement. Jimmy Carter over Gerald Ford (who was unfairly depicted as a bumbling idiot)? Obama (head of Harvard Law Review) over McCain? You have to go all the way back to Adlai Stevenson, who was depicted as an egghead, to support your thesis but even then, the guy who was chosen as the leader of the Free World's army in WW2 could hardly be called an intellectual lightweight.
While there is a strain of anti-intellectualism in America, I think most people want the smartest person in the room to be the one in charge.

[KingCharlemagne]

5. Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter. George W. Bush over Al Gore. Need

I continue?

[SCantiGOP]

9. Reagan was a unique bullshitter who would have beaten anyone

Gore beat Bush but then lost 5-4 to the Supreme Court. Neither of these show a trend, although I admit Bush's election is hard to explain in any manner.

[KingCharlemagne]

16. Reagan lost to the bumbler Ford in 1976 for the Repub nomination, so RR's

bullshit talents were not as all-powerful as you'd have them. Of course, back in 1976, the Republicans had not yet gone full-tilt batshit crazy. That trend started in 1981 with RR's inauguration and we are now seeing its apotheosis in The Donald.

[cali]

8. Jimmy Carter's persona at the time of his election was not as an intellectual.

[SCantiGOP]

11. Carter was a nuclear scientist

Ford, who actually graduated pretty high in his law class at U of Michigan, was widely depicted as a buffoon.

[geek tragedy]

4. Obama won twice, nt

[cali]

13. yes, there are exceptions, but are you actually going.to argue

that there isn't a strong anti-intellectual tradition in this country?

[geek tragedy]

15. certainly that sentiment is dominant on the Republican side.

George W. Bush dumbed down his persona in order to win the Republican nomination.

The real story of Trump is, imo, what David Frum called the "conservative entertainment complex"--Fox News, Breitbart, Limbaugh. He's the logical extension of that.

[SCantiGOP]

14. Obama did win a second time

and beat a guy who was known to be rich, but was criticized because he did it with inherited wealth and showed no particular intellectual capacity.

[Romulox]

6. Regular people tend to be reviled, in "the Academy". It's a two way street. nt

[cali]

10. what is the academy? And no, when it comes to the electorate it is not a two way street

[Romulox]

12. It's another way of saying "Academia". More generally, the intelligentsia... nt

[KingCharlemagne]

7. Trump exemplifies Mencken's notion of the 'booboisie' - nt

[The2ndWheel]

17. The US electorate doesn't like candidates they don't agree with

Smart, egghead smart, relatable, robot, communist, whatever, if you agree with them, you'll like them, justify and rationalize anything about them, and might even vote for them. If you don't agree with them, then they're probably the worst person in the world, and you'll justify and rationalize anything against them.