I’m not sure how “intelligent” Keillor is but he can sure work like a sumbitch. I thought I read that Keillor writes all his monologues. When you add that to writing to all his books, managing the show and the PHC brand for thirty years or so, I’m impressed by his output and quality.

Frankly I’m more impressed with Keillor’s accomplishments than Obama’s. Obama has done a remarkable job with this campaign (though I’d like to know more about Axelrod’s and others’ contributions) but the key to greatness is consistency over the long haul.

So much of Obama’s current impact comes from his ability to inspire rock star like fervor in his supporters and much of that dewy freshness has evaporated since all the Trinity church/Wright/Pfleger freakouts.

Mitsu — More “huge” overreaching from you to bash Bush. Ho-hum. Going beyond your usual arguments by assertion, how specifically do you justify your claims against Bush and in favor of Obama?

Bush has military experience, business experience, executive experience, and served six years as the governor of Texas. Obama has legal and community organizer experience, served eight years in the Illinois State Senate, got elected to the Senate and that’s it. I’d agree that Bush 43 has a light portfolio but still more substantial than Obama’s.

And how specifically do you assess Obama’s intelligence as being so exceptional–other than he agrees with you about many things and you like the way he talks? Sure, he’s got an Ivy League degree (so does Bush–two of them), but Obama has not accomplished much that he can be judged on and what he says is mostly liberal boilerplate and when he has gotten specific–for instance, citing JFK’s disastrous meeting with Khruschev, Obama comes off as historically illiterate for a presidential candidate.

You must be on the same drugs he is.

Does an “exteremely intelligent” person say he is going to raise capital gain taxes even though he knows that will lower the tax’s overall revenue and harm the ecnomy, and say that “it’s fair” to do that.

Obama is a fool. And so are the fools who follow him.

What frightens me the most about Obama is not the man himself, who seems to be a pretty conventional leftist in the policy arena, and either naive or cynical in how he works his supporters, to include much of the press. That’s bad, but we’re strong enough to survive it, even in wartime, and even if it does us long-term harm, which it probably will. His supporters, though, seem entirely too willing to ignore any and all of his faults. No potential leader of a representative government should be given such uncritical deference. The President is our employee, paid by our tax dollars, to be evaluated constantly prior to his hiring and during his 4-year probationary period. Should he meet our satisfaction, we may rehire him to another term, or fire him at the end his trial period. That’s how our candidates for high office should be viewed. Those who are looking for a messiah in government are searching in the wrong place.

I have to say that award goes to our current President by a huge margin. Sure, Obama needs more preparation but as I’ve said many times — he’s extremely intelligent (he will be perhaps the most intelligent president we’ve had in quite a while — even smarter than Bill Clinton) and he learns quickly. He lacks Bill Clinton’s tremendous command of detail, however, which could be a liability. However, he’s run his campaign brilliantly so far, and his policy positions are in the right direction in my view.

I can’t imagine a less prepared President, however, than Bush has been — even if you agreed with his strategy (which I know you do, Neo), his ability to execute his strategy is clearly horrifically bad. He didn’t even know there were Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq until just before the war. Talk about naively unprepared! He doesn’t read newspapers, etc., etc. It’s become a national joke. I do think Bush isn’t as dumb as he seems — but he is clearly lazy, and as for learning from his mistakes — he doesn’t like to even admit his mistakes much less learn from them.