Ever since Lloyd Benson told Dan Quayle, "Senator, you're no John Kennedy," Republicans have slammed anyone who would question the intellectual inferiority of their selected candidate.
"Elitism" is the moniker they hang around their opponent's neck -- an accusation that ignores that we, the people, are being asked to elect one of two men to the world's most powerful and intellectually challenging position.
A number of pundits point to John McCain's inability to remember how many mansions he owns as a sign of an aloofness -- a rich man's inability to relate to the day-to-day issues facing ordinary Americans. But placed within the context of his many gaffes and near incoherent mumblings in unscripted situations, a concern arises as to whether we are witnessing early signs of senile dementia, possibly even Alzheimer's.
That concern aside, even while in his prime, McCain's academic performance raises grave doubts about his qualifications to be president. As the son and grandson of powerfully placed admirals, he had little trouble getting into the Naval Academy, but his academic performance was dismal. He graduated 894th in a class of 899. Compare that to Barack Obama, who, despite a modest background, parlayed hard work and a superior intellect into becoming the first African-American student editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review before graduating magna cum laude and moving on to teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago. Where packaging has failed to hide McCain's verbal deficiencies, Obama's erudition has been nothing short of brilliant.
The real issue is whether McCain, a man famous for his quick temper, possesses the intellectual capacity to lead.
Consider the damage done to this nation and the world these past eight years because of an intellectually challenged president. Do we risk it again?
Intellect matters. Vote for Obama.
-- Ernest A. Canning, Thousand Oaks