I’ve hestitated to write more on the subject of Sarah Palin, because her presence in this campaign makes me so angry, but I wanted to share a link to a post on one of my absolute favorite blogs, Sociological Images, which sheds a light on what I think is the true story of the Sarah Palin candidacy, the attempt by some in America to reject specialized knowledge. It’s a subject some people have written about with regard to Palin before (including my girlfriend Alex), but I think it’s important to share my thoughts on it.

That’s right, specialized knowledge: the idea that some people know better. That some people are better qualified for a position, and it has nothing to do with their race, gender, political persuasion - that some people should be making movies, that others should be swimming in the Olympics, and that others still should be governing national policy. That these people have a natural talent for the craft of their chosen field - they are artisans of cinema, athletics, policy.

The Internet - and its ability to put discourse in the hands of anyone willing to wrest control of it - has changed a lot of things about America’s relationship to speciality, and while it has led to a democratizing of discourse that’s been the cause of very positive changes in this country, it’s also been part of the anti-intellectual movement that minimizes the importance of specialized knowledge and talent. Specialized knowledge has been assaulted in the past decade in the form of amateurism: the idea that anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it.

No, they can’t.

The film Ratatouille is instructive in this regard: Brad Bird’s masterpiece of mature anti-bullshit tells us that talent and genius can come from anywhere, but it cannot come from anyone. Everyone can cook, but not everyone can be great, and no amount of rah-rah spirit can turn an able short-order cook into Thomas Keller.

Some examples:

The Rogue’s Gallery of Hacks on Fox’s dearly-departed parade of delusion On the Lot will never be great filmmakers. They lack the talent. They have dreams, and they have experience - many of them have worked in and around the film industry for years. They can point and shoot, but no amount of good-natured verve can turn Kenny Luby into Martin Scorsese.

No, he can’t.

Eric Moussambani was the toast of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, an Equatorial Guinean swimmer who skated by to the finals in the 100m freestyle on technicality after technicality - competitor false starts, a wildcard draw system developed to encourage developing nations to enter the Olympics. Moussambani, who had the nickname ‘Eric the Eel,’ had only begun swimming competitively eight months before the Olympics. And predictably enough, when technicalities could no longer carry him, he swam horribly, finishing the 100m freestyle in twice the time as his fastest competitor. He did not have the specialized knowledge or talent to compete, and it was only through ridiculous circumstances that he got to the finals in the first place. I’m sure he’s a great guy, but even if we love his indefatigable spirit, Eric the Eel cannot win Olympic medals.

No, he can’t.

Sarah Palin’s spent less than two years as the governor of a state with a population smaller than that of Indianapolis. Prior to that, she had spent six years as the mayor of a town with 4,500 constituents. 4,500. That’s half the size as Hanover, New Hampshire. That would fill 1/4 of San Antonio’s AT&T Center when fully set up for a basketball game. That is less than many American high schools.

Moreover, she seems disinterested in the specialized knowledge one requires of a major political leader: her ignorance of the Bush Doctrine, her lack of diplomatic understanding about the precarious situation in Eastern Europe. It’s been clear from the beginning that Palin was a purely strategic choice on John McCain’s part - a desperate grab to solidify his base and reach out toward women - but with her interviews with Charlie Gibson and new light being shed on her dealings in Alaska - book-banning, pork-loving, bridge-supporting (uh, before she was against it!), personally-motivated firings - coming forth, it’s apparent just how dangerous and thoughtless a strategic choice it was. By choosing Palin as a running mate, John McCain demonstrates his reckless willingness to potentially damage his country, if only to get elected. Horrifying.

If McCain wanted to shore up his campaign with a conservative woman, he could have done so in myriad ways. Some of the talented Republican women he passed over for Palin: Elizabeth Dole, Kay Bailey Hutchison, M. Jodi Rell, Linda Lingle, Christine Todd Whitman, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe. So why Palin? Because Palin had the right narrative: the hockey-mom (a made-up demographic if I’ve ever heard one) turned politician. A bullshit label for a bullshit era in American discourse. McCain delivered to America what a country weaned on reality television could appreciate: an amateur politician.

And yet, there seems to be some sort of idea that Sarah Palin is legitimately qualified to be the vice president - or, if the actuarial tables are to be believed, to have a one-in-three shot of becoming the president in her first term. That her lack of experience, lack of specialized knowledge in politics are somehow advantages. The ultimate horseshit, deftly called out by Matt Damon in a terrific interview: that by utilizing her knowledge of small-town politics and being a parent, she could become a great leader.

No, she can’t.

Ultimately, I set myself up with a post like this to an easy criticism: I’m a blogger, one who specializes in writing on film. What qualifications or specialized knowledge do I have to say Sarah Palin is unqualified for president?

The answer: I’m a voter. I don’t make any claims to specialized political knowledge. I probably couldn’t engage you in a nuanced discussion of the Bush Doctrine, but I know what it is. I’m no foreign policy expert, but I’m aware that sabre-rattling with a power-mad Russia that has submarines with nuclear ICBMs off both our coasts is terrifyingly stupid. I’m not a politician, and neither should be Sarah Palin.

So yeah, here’s that post, from Sociological Images: it’s about the way a McDonalds commercial underlines a distrust of intellectual knowledge and anyone with intellectual interests. It’s about the rejection of specialized knowledge in favor of talented amateurs, and as much as phrases like ‘latte liberals’ get thrown around by conservative commentators, it borders dangerously on McDonald’s part on engaging in some extremely mean-spirited culture-war horseshit. It’s good stuff, from a greater blog than my own.

• BROWSE / IN TIMELINE
• « You Ignorant Piece of Shit
• » I’m Bringing Blogging Back

• BROWSE / IN Miscellaneous
• « You Ignorant Piece of Shit
• » I’m Bringing Blogging Back