This is a great piece by an admittedly conservative leaning journalist. Of particular interest is the notion that Sarah Palin manages to cash in on the idea that thoughtful and reasoned decision making is bad for the country and those who practice such thinking are “the intellectual elite.” In my own experience it has been all to common to hear disparaging remarks made about anyone who is more literate, more educated, more well traveled and just plain different from “real Americans” as Ms Palin likes to call her fans. As Rob Dreher so aptly points out and I whole heartedly agree, I want my elected officials and government leaders to be smarter and more knowledgeable than I am about the matters of governance. The idea that a Sarah Palin or a Glen Beck, no matter how popular they are has a clue about running the country is one of the most frightening ideas to emerge in a long time.