Ah, To Be Assumed Brilliant and Thoughtful for No Apparent Reason
I was watching Morning Joe on MSNBC today, as I do every morning, and heard Gayle King (aka Oprah’s best friend) share her thoughts regarding President Obama and the whole “firing over an unkindly edited internet video” debacle. Ms. King asserted that there was no way the President could have had anything to do with the abrupt firing of Shirley Sherrod because he always gives due diligence and careful thought to every decision he makes.
I don’t doubt that President Obama was not involved in the premature firing of Ms. Sherrod, because I believe he has shown time and again his desire not to be a real leader. If something goes wrong, he wants to make sure there is someone else to blame.
Instead, I take issue with the belief that our President employs due diligence. What is the basis for thinking this? Along those same lines, why does he get labeled as one of our most intellectual presidents ever with an IQ that his avid supporters claim to be off the charts but is not really known?
Where is the evidence that President Obama is a man of rare intelligence who gives careful thought to every decision he makes? How has he displayed these characteristics any more than his predecessor? In fact, I think I could say that President Bush uses due diligence in his decision making and have just as much proof for that assertion as those who would say it about our current leader (and that’s not saying much).
I’m not saying that our President is not smart and that he doesn’t think through his options. He may very well possess all of these amazing attributes. But, why is this assumption automatically made without examples to point to its truth?
Is it because he is able to give a good speech (or at least he could during the campaign)? Is it because he went to an Ivy League school? There are many people to whom I could point who attended Harvard but don’t exactly inspire awe in their intellect. Why do so many people think that President Obama is magnificent in the depth of his wisdom and careful consideration?