Is America's Love Affair with Stupidity Finally Over?

By Liz Langley, AlterNet. Posted January 14, 2009.

Clinton was certainly a brainy guy -- but image-wise he was Bubba, a McDonald's fan and ass-grabber of dubious taste. And we dug him. Frankel says she might vote for Clinton again, but "he just downplayed his own ability too much and fell into the trap and looked like such a bozo after a while."

Running neck and neck with that '90s desire to look bright, was an admiration for the Regular Guy, which Clinton could pull off. But poor Hillary Clinton -- while we were drinking smart drinks, she was being castigated for reading a book at a ballgame and having to show that she wasn't too smart to bake cookies.

When she came out and campaigned for the presidency, unembarrassed to give the impression "I'm smart," Frankel says, "it was almost like, 'She is? Then what the fuck is she doing with him?' "

Both sides of our dual personality -- the Ren side and the Stimpy side -- were strong in the early '90s. It may have given us "Frasier," but 1994 gave us Forrest Gump, Dumb and Dumber, and the OJ Simpson trial. The latter changed TV, possibly forever. Once it was discovered that if tempted we would eat up empty-calorie TV 24/7, we got it, 24/7. The slide was in progress.

Cultural pendulums always swing back, though, and the cool sense and sensibilities of the Obamas should help push the momentum the other way.

"We have a great radio station, WAMC," says Frankel, "and for the first time in 10 years, people are calling and talking about their education in a way they're really proud of." She feels the Obamas are part of that, that their demeanor will effect us, that people are going to be proud to be smart and do the right thing.

Finally, she says, there will be "dialogue and talk, and that has been sorely lacking for the last eight years."

"But, hey, not so fast -- there's still a lot of stoopid out there!" Joe Bargmann says. "Consider: Beverly Hills Chihuahua grossed more than $90 million, ads for erectile dysfunction medications and 400-horsepower pickup trucks are ubiquitous, the New York Times best-seller's list includes books by Rachel Ray and Suzanne Somers, and Fox News still draws huge ratings. I'm afraid we're not completely out of the woods."

Fair enough: When you're as deep in the woods as we've been, it takes some time to get out. But here are some encouraging signs that, to borrow a phrase from Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. -- help is on the way:

• Rachael Maddow, also a Rhodes scholar and Oxford grad (with a doctorate in political science), the 35-year-old host of her own news show on MSNBC, is a bright, good-humored breath of fresh air and possibly so great on camera because ... get this ... she doesn't have a TV. She is in it but not of it, and we're the better for her pop-cultural sacrifice.

• Michelle Obama, without whom that Obama effect of cool command would not have the strength it does. A Harvard Law School graduate, Michelle comes across with an easy grace we hope will become as iconic as it always should have been.

• Tim Gunn, the real break-out star of Bravo's fashion show, "Project Runway," deserves our highest esteem for his refusal to dumb down. Few in the media, even in the news, command English with such gymnastic range of motion, employing words -- on a reality show -- like "sturm und drang," "caucus" and "polysyllabic." He's also a PETA advocate, and Liz Claiborne Inc., where he is the chief creative officer, is a fur-free company. So, when can we make him minister of culture?
• Amy Poehler, the comic actress who's using her powers for good as the co-creator and host of "Smart Girls at the Party," an ON networks TV show, encouraging young girls to develop their talents and be themselves. Oh -- and to dance!

Hell, even Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is quoting Tennyson these days. Things are looking up.

But never fear -- Americans have historically enjoyed a ditz: Gomer Pyle, Gracie Allen, Vinnie Barbarino, Barney Fife, Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, Stimpy, Pinky, Bullwinkle and Homer Simpson. Loveable goofs have always had a place with us. That place used to be fiction. I believe that time can come again. 

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Liz Langley is a freelance writer in Orlando, Fla.

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