In late September, NBC reporter Luke Russert felt pressed to apologize after reporting from the University of Virginia and suggesting that smarter people lean toward Barack Obama: "the smartest kids in the state go there, so it's leaning a little bit towards Obama." On Tuesday morning, Russert’s mother, Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth, slipped into the liberal-equals-brainy arrogance on NBC’s Today, in a discussion on whether the Obamas will be more social than the Bushes in Washington. She said the "whole town is desperately hoping it’ll be different," and "brains are in the ascendancy now, absolutely. They’re such a brainy Cabinet."
How do brains go hand in hand with visiting more house parties and restaurants? MRC's Geoff Dickens found that after a Jamie Gangel segment on Inaugural balls and how difficult and crowded they are, Vieira turned to Orth for more on the D.C. social scene:
MEREDITH VIEIRA: You know the Bushes once they, they got into office, they sort of stayed away from the social scene in Washington.
MAUREEN ORTH: Right.
VIEIRA: Think it’ll be different for the Obamas?
ORTH: Well the whole town is desperately hoping it’ll be different. And I think because they’re involved with young children they’ll be parents at their schools. They’ve always been involved with, with their school kids and parents and their children’s friends. I think any, brains are in the ascendancy now, absolutely. They’re such a brainy Cabinet. And there are a lot of brains in Washington. So I think that, and he’s a sponge for information. So I think that if they go out and hit the themes that he wants to hit about sacrifice and community and green and service. And bipartisanship especially is what we need back. So I’m hoping that there will be a lot of social events that will mix a lot of people as it was before everything became so polarized.
If Orth really wanted bipartisanship instead of polarization, it might begin with the idea that Republican presidents and cabinet officials have brains, too.
This sentiment matches Orth's enthusiasm two weeks ago for the Obama girls' new school, that it emphasizes all the sacrifice-and-community themes, "that emphasizes consensus. Lighting your light from within.You bring a vegetable on Wednesdays to cut up for the homeless shelter."
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.





















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they sort of stayed away
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 17:18 ET by Dan The Man 2they sort of stayed away from the social scene in Washington.
And just goes to show how smart the Bushes are. As far as the brainy cabinent, lets just hope the zombies dont raid Washington anytime soon, tehy would die of starvation.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
Just two words Orth says
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 17:25 ET by bigtimerJust two words Orth says here say it all for me.
Sponge and vegetables.
Describes leftists...all of them to a tee...from the bottom up.
Btw...speaking of the party circuit...lets see, elite leftists like Orth, Dowd, QUINN, I'm even adding in Noonan...are all going to be happy again...this is what they mean by bipartisanship...when they are pleased.
Aren't they special...as long a they think they are...that is all that matters in their bubble-filled world.
Brains are in the
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 17:27 ET by Trix RabbitBrains are in the ascendency? And you're talking about Washington????
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Has anyone wondered what white trash does for amusement? I never have until I read this post. What could possibly keep Vieira and Orth so utterly occupied?
I find it highly unlikely that either of these two slices of Americana might be quoting Kierkegaard, so then what is it?
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. George Orwell
Don't ever confuse
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 18:18 ET by NC Copeducation with intelligence. I've met people with PhD's who are completely clueless to how the real world operates.
Could you imagine...
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 18:21 ET by mizflame98...the negative press the Bush's would receive for going to any DC party? There's a war going on, the Iraqis are dying because of our murderous troops and Bush had the nerve to allow his daughter to get married...at least that's how the Daily Kos saw it.
Perfect Demotivator for the Obama Administration
http://www.despair.com/government.html
I'll never get this thing
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 18:22 ET by RR GOPI'll never get this thing where Libs are automatically 'smarter'. Obama and Bush seem equally intelligent to me, and neither are really great speakers, especially when compared to several past presidents.
But, the canvas is being painted by the left since they own most of the galleries, so, there it is.
One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
So......
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 18:32 ET by choselife3xLet me get this straight...A vegetable on Wednesday. Dayem. How *ahem* WHITE of them.
In order to be pro-choice, one must first be born. Ah, the irony.
Brains is a poor substitue for common sense
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 18:43 ET by richb313Just a thought, ALL of our current financial difficulties have been brought to us by SMART EDUCATED people. Many PHD's Masters Degrees and such dreamed up all of the bogus financial instruments. Smart politicians in Congress and past administrations messed with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae until they are no longer solvent. Smart people created the Ponzi Schemes that cheated thousands of equally smart Americans. I'll bet an un-educated electrician or perhaps a plumber would never have thought to risk an entire economy on this.
Agreed! I think someone has noted how many grads
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 20:50 ET by Cape Conservativeof the Ivy League schools are responsible for this horrible meltdown of our economy...ohhhhh we should be soooo thankful we have SMART & EDUCATED people in charge now!
I agree that most small businessmen and women in our country would have the smarts to figure out what to do FAR BETTER than people who have never faced a struggle in their lives.
You mention the Madoff scam - SMART, EDUCATED & ROTTEN TO THE CORE! And more just like him are coming out of the woodwork every day! The guy in Indiana...SMART, EDUCATED & ATTENDED LOTS OF COCKTAIL PARTIES trying to line up more chumps to steal from, ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL PERSON!
Give me someone who knows how to make something work, and if it's broken, can fix it over a SMART, EDUCATED, PARTY-GOING, ROTTEN TO THE CORE INDIVIDUAL any day of the year!
(and I'm most fortunate to be married to a SMART, WELL-EDUCATED (non-party-going, non-rotten) Mr. FixIt ;-)
It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue. ~ Sam Adams
What a coincidence?
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 20:53 ET by general company(and I'm most fortunate to be married to a SMART, WELL-EDUCATED (non-party-going, non-rotten) Mr. FixIt ;-)
So is my wife!! : ]
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Intelligence
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 20:56 ET by slickwillie2001Call me a skeptic on Obama's supposed brilliance. Any evidence of his intelligence such as his SATs or LSATs and his bar exam performance seems to have been deep-sixed. Normally, as in the Gore-Bush race, these are available for discussion. As one who benefitted from AA, the fact that he has a degree from Harvard tells us nothing.
This is tim russert's widow??
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 20:58 ET by Calypso JonesOr his ex....she is just so....shallow.
The Luke Russert apple does
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 21:14 ET by stratmanThe Luke Russert apple does not fall far from the Mommy tree.
Beetles in the wood, worms in the fruit.
My IQ in the 3rd grade was 142
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 21:36 ET by Army BratI stopped paying attention to IQ numbers when I noticed that I was quite capable of doing incredibly stupid things regardless of how "smart" I was.
Obamas IQ is spoda be around 125. Does that make me better qualified to be President? Well...in this particular instance I can think of quite a number of people that would, without a doubt, do a better job, me included. However, if IQ points or brains had anything to do with performance, Biden, with an IQ which is around 145 or higher, would not be so prone to going around saying such incredibly stupid things all the time.
Happy Trails...
Great, we have another
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 21:47 ET by JerGreat, we have another Keith. I think he liked to boast his was close to 200 or thereabouts.
However, to your credit, you seemed to be blessed with a good deal more humility and self-awareness than was Keith.
Jer
Hey Jer. Whatever
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 23:18 ET by stratmanHey Jer.
Whatever happened to Keith? He seemed to suddenly disappear.
Did he burn out, burn up, or get tossed out?
Keith was banned
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 23:23 ET by choselife3xSome people think Acts 2_38 is his 'reincarnation'.
See Rev. Lowery thread.
In order to be pro-choice, one must first be born. Ah, the irony.
strat...Not sure.
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 23:29 ET by Jerstrat...
Not sure. Maybe he suffered a neuron overload or some sort of synaptical malfunction, and his brain exploded. Such a waste...all that brilliance.
Jer
edit: I meant to mention what choselife just noted. There are some interesting similarities.
ChooselifeX3 and Jer: I
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 00:34 ET by stratmanChooselifeX3 and Jer:
I see what you mean about Acts 2_38. I have a headache like I would get after reading too much Keith.
I don't think Acts is Keith, close, but no cigar. Reading his posts in the Lowery thread, Acts 2_38 makes references to his "white lineage". Also, the grammar is different enough from what I recall from Keith's.
Around the time Keith disappeared, I thought I had figured out who he is in Hollywood. I've seen several TV shows he acted in, playing a lot of chip-on-the-shoulder roles on TV. Typecasting?
Regardless, Keith is a good actor with a long resume and success in Hollyweird. I might have been one of the only posters to compliment him and then he goes and gets himself booted. Such is life.
Jer... "all that brilliance"... LOL.
strat...
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 01:27 ET by JerI don't think I ever posted anything to, or about, Keith...and I tried to understand and approach his comments with an open mind. I promise I did. But the stream of consciousness, scripture-laden tirades--which were later adorned with self-righteous racial victimization bombast--became a little difficult to take.
Jer
Spot On
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 06:04 ET by stratmanYou pretty much summed it up for me.
No boast,..just these questions of intelligence keep poppin' up.
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 00:39 ET by Army BratI've been out thought by Janitors passin' by in the hallway, pushin' a mop bucket, (Which I have also done.) whilst all us smart guys were tryin' to figure out a problem. He took one look and solved the little engineering problem we were workin' on, much to our surprise. I felt quite stupid...not because I was shown up by a Janitor...just because I was stupid and realized it.
My point is that brains doan count for nothin' as is evidenced by the incredibly stupid things I and many other "smart" people have done in our lives. Things no average sane person would do.
It's what one does with what one has that counts. I don't count myself in the crowd that has accomplished much with what I have. Just a killer of bedbugs and fleas and such. 'Kay?
I still work with my hands to make a living out there. I know the difference between intellect and intelligence and I consider myslef to be a dumbass.
Happy Trails...
A B... Well, I think the
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 01:36 ET by JerA B...
Well, I think the testing was accurate. You appear pretty smart to me.
Jer
They’re such a brainy
Tue, 01/20/2009 - 23:42 ET by TN MomThey’re such a brainy Cabinet
Brainy enough to cheat the IRS for years: Geithner
Brainy like Big Gaffe Biden?
Brainy (1st choice) Gov Bill Richardson under Federal Investigation?
Brainy like Eric Holder who circumvented the Justice Dept to help pardon Mark Riche?
You want to get the job done: take the whisky-drinking C student..they play hard (but fair) and will work 'smarter' than the A student!