Explanation for Dan Quayle, Sarah Palin and George W. Bush's opinions of themselves? Dunning-Kruger

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4. i agree with dunning-kruger, but more important is the anti-intellectualism in politics

i think the politicians themselves might be victims of the phenomenon. sarah palin THINKING she's qualified, etc.

to some extent this goes with sociopathy or narcissistic personality disorder. these people surround themselves with sycophants who encourage them to think of themselves as not just competent, but great.



but the bigger problem is that the electorate has been brainwashed into thinking that a person who is dumb is somehow more moral than someone who is smart; that an average smarts, weak student, and provincial guy you could have a beer with would somehow make a better president than someone who is really smart, well-educated, and well-travelled.

the electorate doesn't just like to vote for dumb people on its own. the electorate likes to vote for dumb people because puppet-masters like dumb presidents they figure they can control and and they then sell those dumb presidents to the public.

trust me, if ever right-wingers had a very smart, well-educated, well-travelled guy running against an not-so-bright democrat (hard to imagine that scenario these days, but bear with me), suddenly they'd be singing a different tune and suddenly the electorate would be taking that lack of credentials and capabilities to be a liability.