I thought Ariel Gonzalez summed it up pretty well:
For the past year, Andrew Sullivan has kept a running tally of Palin’s numerous prevarications. Clearly the woman has a problem. But a reader of Sullivan’s blog suggested that many Christian fundamentalists are untroubled by her cognitive dissonance because they live in a state of constant denial themselves, about evolution, homosexuality, torture, etc. And as Purdum observed, Palin’s lack of intellect wins her praise from right-wing Republicans, who listen daily to the wisdom and profundity of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity. In fact, all this talk by Limbaugh and Co. of principles is one reason why Palin may have a shot at the nomination in 2012. Anybody can espouse principles; policies require brains. So when you hear them go on ad nauseum (I mean you, Sean, you’ve really got to see somebody about that ideological Turette’s) about principles, it’s because they have no substantive ideas to propose. But liberals and independents must not let down their guard. Palin’s resignation does not mean she’s out of the picture. John McCain’s unforgivably reckless act of choosing her for a running mate gave her one-hundred-percent name recognition, an invaluable commodity in politics. We must remind the public why that name should never be preceded by any title other than governor.
Anti-intellectualism is a real problem for this country. Glorification of “gut instinct” and “natural talent” tells kid that education doesn’t matter.
Unfortunately, a lot of those pushing anti-intellectualism want nothing more than an ignorant and malleable public. If you are uneducated, you will be unable to accurately evaluate what you are being told. What you don’t know will hurt you.
