Obama is intelligent, intellectually curious, thoughtful, deliberate and he knows policy. But he’s black. That’s why 1/2 the population dislikes him.
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That makes for a fun sound bite, but is it true? I mentioned Jimmy Carter in an earlier post. Very intelligent, intellectually curious (graduated from Annapolis), deliberate and, in my opinion, had more of a devotion to the common good that Barack Obama (for example, his work for Habitat for Humanity, etc.). But after a single term, he lost in a landslide to Reagan (Oprah equivalent), with Reagan receiving the highest number of electoral votes ever won by a non-incumbent presidential candidate. Carter was ridiculed at an alarming rate, with Saturday Night Live even making fun of Amy Carter (which they also did with Chelsea Clinton but have removed in later reruns). http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/12/first-daughter-attacks-sasha-malia-chelsea-clinton.html
I really think that the animosity is *toward* being intelligent and deliberate. The average American (and apparently the average Russian and the average Brit and who knows who else) likes the bravado, false or otherwise. It makes them feel good. Intellectual arguments and justifications do not tend to give people good feelings. It’s why people eschew proven medical treatments in favor of snake oil. But the question is – how do you fix it?
