There have been a couple/few memes vomited upon us by the McCain campaign that, for lack of better imagery, make me want to gouge my eyes out and punch puppies after naming them Johnny Mac (not necessarily in that order).  I could go on ad nauseum about most, if not all, of them, but the one that's bothering me the most right now the recent derision of Obama's education, and the implicit (and really, explicit) condemnation by the right wing of education, critical thinking, original thought, and just plain intellectualism as somehow anti-American or dangerous or counterproductive to America's goals.  In fact, all of those things are the epitome of what it is to be American, and are the reasons America is what it is.  There is no greater American undertaking than to push oneself intellectually to the limit.

It seems clear to me that the recent attack by the right on Obama's eduction (trying to pigeonhole him as an elitist by highlighting his time at Punahoe, Columbia, and Harvard) is part of the overall strategy to portray Obama as "not like us."  I'm guessing that strategy has been employed with the "less educated, salt of the earth" types of Americans in mind, because it shouldn't play well with anyone who's ever stood on the roof of the Hay Adams in Washington, DC sipping martinis or CEOs with MBAs or lawyers with JDs (and, perhaps, LLMs).  Whatever the case may be, it also seems clear to me that the message is: intelligent is different; different is scary; and scary is unAmerican.  Sort of a "fear leads to anger; anger leads to hatred; hatred leads to the dark side" sort of mentality.

So I'll say it.  Yes, Obama is smarter than I.  And yes, he's very different from me.  He's not more educated, perhaps -- I have my own JD degree -- but no doubt he is much sharper intellectually than I ... by a country mile.  And THANK GOD for that. 

I don't know what Henry Ford's educational background was.  But -- and putting aside his racist attitudes for the sake of this argument -- he was also much sharper than I.  He thought outside the box.  He didn't get locked in on the status quo, but thought forward and gave us his invention.  An invention that is responsible for much of our nation's economic success.  Not because he dumbed himself down.  Not because he was content with horses and bicycles.  Because he was intellectually sharp, precocious, driven, and different than almost everyone else with his peculiar acumen.  Period.

The same goes for Marconi.  The same goes for Bell.  The same goes for Edison.  The same goes for Jefferson, and Madison, and Hamilton, and Socrates, and Curie, and Kant, and Hume, and Einstein, and on and on.  NONE of those men and women were "like me."  They were, every last one of them, sharper than me; about that I have very little doubt.  They were all "different" than me.  Does that mean that the fruits of their intellect have not benefitted me greatly?  Absolutely not.  My life is richer, healthier, safer, and more productive because of them.  Because of people "different" than me, because of people "smarter" than me.  THANK GOD for that.

We didn't put a man on the moon with a gaggle of high school dropouts or an infinite number of monkeys on an infinite number of typewriters, praying for the right mathematical calculations to appear.  I'm betting we didn't do it with people who graduated in the bottom 1% of their undergraduate classes, either.  It is the smartest, the sharpest, the most original, who have made this country what it is.  The very reason they have been able to do so is BECAUSE they aren't "like" most of the rest of us.  We didn't get where we are because of stunted intellect; we didn't get where we are because of low-performing individuals; we didn't get where we are because of laziness, either physical or intellectual.  America is (or was) what it is (or was) because of those once-in-a-while humans who came along and revolutionized how we think about things, who broke through intellectual barriers and shined their unique and fresh intellects on old problems.

I have a young son, ready to start kindergarten in less than a month.  John McCain and his campaign are sending the message that if my son winds up finding his particular intellectual niche, and that if he winds up excelling in that niche above most others, that that is something about which he ought to be ashamed, that it's something he should suppress, because it will make him different and scary and, perhaps, unAmerican, just like Barack Obama.  That disgusts me.

Being intellectually lazy or an academic failure isn't something to be proud of.  It doesn't make a good leader.  It doesn't make a good teacher.  It doesn't make a good role model.  But the right wing, with their recent attack on education an intellectual ability, would have us believe that it does, and that is shameful and, quite frankly, purely unAmerican.

I don't begrudge an athelete that can hit a 90 mph slider, just because I cannot.  I don't begrudge a construction worker who can frame a beautiful house, just because I cannot.  I don't begrudge a secretary who can keep a busy office organized to a tee, just becuase I cannot.  I don't begrudge a chef who cooks a stunning meal, just because I cannot.  And I certainly don't begrudge an intellectual who brings his mind to bear on the most serious intellectual issues, just because I cannot.  To say that any of those people ought not to be doing what they do simply because I cannot would make me petty and egocentric -- the very antithesis of the UNITED States. 

So I say THANK GOD that Obama is not like me.  I am not too petty or egotistical to think that there are lots of people brighter than I on this planet, in this nation, in my state, or even on my block.  I celebrate those people, not just for what they have brought me and the rest of my country, but for the example they set for the next generation.  They are what makes America great.  Barack Obama is one of those people -- it is BECAUSE he is as educated as he is, it is BECAUSE he is as bright as he is, it is BECAUSE he is as intellectually sharp and unique as he is, that I celebrate him, and hope that he leads this country in a few short months.