Brains Are Back!

Uhh. Mike. How ''intellectual''was it to install a FANNIE MAE hack [Emmanuel] who helped oversee the ripoff of hundreds of millions while refusing any and all calls for an oversight investigation?

How ''intellectual''is it to depend upon the reports of ''anomymous sources''within the McCain camp that Palin ''does not know that Africa is a continent'' ? I could just as easily say that you are one of Americas great jounalists. This does not make it so,however.

Lastly,who the blazes are you to trot out this garbage that all will be ''well thought out and soberly considered''? Your plastic 8-ball needs to remind you that it is not even Inaugration Day yet,let alone 2010,2011,or 2012 that gives reams of time for Obaman screwups,messes to clean up,and out-and-out failures in the foreign and domestic sectors. Mantras from amen-choruses among the Fifth Column Fourth Estate we do not need. The DOW has fallen nearly 1000 points since Election Day,the worst drop since 1987, and Obama wants to put Mr.GLASS-STEAGALL [Bob Rubin] in the Brownie Seat. Grubby pork handprints are all over the 700 billion already. A plethora of economists[BLOOMBERG,INVESTORS,FORBES,NPR,CNBC,CREDIT-SUISSE,YALE,HARVARD,STANFORD,RUTGERS and others], says that the early moves by Obama on infrastructure to help the economy are no good. You can scribble your nonsense in minutes Mike,but it takes YEARS,to draft, and engineer,within tight state and government regulations,bridges,roads and rail systems and this is long before a backhoe blade operated by a construction worker ever hits the ground. . The unemployed,which will hit 8% and perhaps more by Obamas ushering-in,do not have that long to wait.[meanwhile,all we are getting from Congress is more pork barrel shenanagins,corruption,and internecine backbiting between the leftwinged Pelosi/Waxman camps and the Blue Dog/Dingalls that NEWSWEAK has utterly ignored].

"Is it not better at least most of the time to have a leader that holds himself accountable to a benevolent higher power than one who doesn't?"

No. That's the most pervasive ignorant belief of our time.

"I could be wrong though because apparently I'm not all that bright."

That's obvious.

So, it's considered the height of intellectualism to reason that, while the determination of when life begins is above his pay grade, the safe bet is to go ahead and act as if life doesn't begin until birth?

The voters didn't choose reason over faith. They chose welfare over wages and abortion over behaving responsibly.

This article was a tasteless attack on an honorable Republican opponent. Senator McCain is more than just "a 72-year-old cancer victim" as Mr. Hirsh's words express. He should be respected for his courage as a POW, cancer survivor, and public servant.

Mr. Hirsh calls for hopes of a brighter future for America, a goal that we can all hope to attain. Ironically, he fails to realize that articles like his own will only make the journey ahead even more difficult by instilling such crude thought into the minds of readers. How un-intellectual.

I believe what he means as "anti-intellectualism" is the portion of the Republican Party that panders to the vast number of truly stupid people in this country. The Bush administration has attempted to deceive the public into seeing them as champions of the ordinary people and egalitarianism against elitism, especially academic elitism. I don't think all Republicans are stupid or bad people, in fact, I believe in some of the things the party used to stand for (smaller government, lower taxes, fiscal responsibility). It's their social policies (banning gay marriage, opposition to women's rights, opposition to civil rights) that I just can't get on board with. The Republican Party has been hijacked by the religious right, and those are the ones that really scare me.

I find it ironic that Mr. Hirsh celebrates the "end of anti-intellectualism" by writing a poorly researched editorial full of discredited rumors and innuendos. I can appreciate a well-written opinion piece even if it comes from a perspective that differs from mine, but I am appalled that this shamelessly adolescent love letter to Mr. Obama made it onto the website of a respected news magazine. I suppose that next Hirsh will be offering to carry Barack???s books home from school or be sitting by the phone waiting for Barack to call and invite him to the big dance. I mean seriously, is Hirsh vying for a spot as White House press secretary?

What a piece of garbage. Yes there were a lot of things wrong with the Bush Presidency, but to say that being smart is a great virtue is way over kill. There are a lot of smart people with no common sense, and vice versa. Obama has shown a great gift to speak. That is all. The only thing that matters is action. I hope he does well ,but lets get real. He is just a mortal human being like the rest of us. We need someone who will take decisive action on thinga that come up, not sit around and talk everthing to death

You do realize, Michael, that saying the Bush Administration was "anti-intellectual" is just as ignorant as saying that Obama is the anti-christ?
George W. Bush was elected president, after going to Yale and having a 4.0.
You write for Newsweek, probably one of the most Leftist publication I've read in a while.
Please do not critisize a past administration if you can not do better.

"Intellectualism != knee-jerk, relativist, liberalism."

I've long been curious as to why the stupid and poor despite the smart but love the rich so much. Then it hit me-anyone in this country with a unique talent CAN be rich, no matter what type of idiot they may be-ala Manny Ramirez or any number of megabucks winners. No matter what your financial circumstances presently, being wealthy is never unachievable.

But an idiot can never, ever be smart. And that eats these people alive.

Jealousy, thy name is lancegutzman, and everyone out there like him.

This is the problem with liberals. They think that the only position is theirs and everyone who doesn't see it their way is "anti-intellectual". After the dust has settled in Mr. Obama's presidency we will once again see someone who promised everything and does the opposite. He will give the people on welfare everything, and take from the people who have worked hard for everything they have. Democracy my ass.

It's this quote that gives me pause: "the politics of ideological rigidity, religious zealotry and anti-intellectualism???'has for the moment played itself out...'" The emphasis in my mind is on "for the moment." Yes - Sen. Obama's victory was decisive - itself a welcome development - but the forces of hate and stupidity are far from vanquished. There is still an awful lot of red on the map. Let's just hope that once President Obama (OH how I love saying that!!) has proven that he has the goods to deliver on his promises, these people wake up enough to reconsider their positions, admit they were wrong, and move toward fully restoring this nation's greatness.

You Mr. Hirsh are a smug and arrogant SOB. While I didn't vote for Mr. Obama I will not spend the next 4 (or 8) years lamenting Mr. McCain's loss. I will not tear down Mr. Obama at every opportunity. I will not belittle him or dig deep for things in his past to use against him. I will not degrade his name to any foreigner who will listen. I will give him my support during this difficult time. I hope and wish he will succeed for all of our sakes. If he does succeed I might consider voting for him in four years. You see Mr. Hirsch, I am an American and you - well, I am not sure what you are.

I'm not through!!! Just remembered another bit of history. When Clinton, Democratic Congress and Company over-reached from 1992 to 1994, the American people saw them for what they were. Out of touch with mainstream American and elitist. Go ahead Obama, Democratic Congress and Conpany: PLEEEEAAASEE
do what you do best. That's right! Over-reach by governing from the left and we'll be glad to have Congress back!!!!!!!! Well........come on! Go ahead!!!!! Make my day!!!!!!

Unbelievable garbage here: you mean the "inteeligent" Democratic party proponents that consists primarily of : Liberally brainwashed and naive college "kids", academically credentialed, yet bereft of real world smarts and common sense? Or maybe that large welfare group of minorities and crack mothers who lives from govt. handout to govt. handout? Perhaps the illegal immigrants and migrant workers who are incapable of learning English? Or could it be those liberal leaning union workers who place seniority above self education and performance? What about those who choose to milk their disability and unemployment claims? Yeah they love Obama too! Criminals and felons also tend to vote Democratic...yeah, there's real smarts in that group. Or finally the naive, gullible masses that had to be signed up and dragged by the busload to their voting precincts.

Yes, Mr. Hirsch...you really have a lot of Rhodes Scholars and Pulitzer prize winners in that Democratic base. I'm really jealous of this groups "superior intellect". Get over yourself.

Hmmm "leader who values nuance and careful thought" dah duh huh you are referring to Obama - I guess.I will never salute him and pledge to the flAg in his presence. Obama is not my president.

You are an intellectual moron if you even believe 1/10 of this article. The ideals you speak of are only worked out to half of their logical end. Further more you site unsubstantiated facts about Obama's election opponents. I feel the entire article is not very becoming of someone who works for a major news source to be so far off base from reality. You are also probably one of those people who went around saying "Bush isn't my president..." yet now with a very close general population vote count will expect everyone who doesn't agree with Obama to get on board. It never ceases to amaze me how if you don't agree with someone or their ideals, you refuse to tolerate them, and sink to the level of name calling. In this article you careful call any and all who may think that you are off base stupid, by insisting that only smart people know that the last eight years have been defined by anti-intellectualism. It is a great achievement for Pres elect Obama for sure and I commend him as much as anyone and truly hope he experiences success for the sake of our country. But it is a sad day when someone like President Bush is ridiculed to the point of calling him stupid
(which he clearly is smarter than you are, why aren't you president?) for governing from a point of character rather than popularity polls.

Hopefully, while we are "thinking" about how to best handle our enemies in the world, they don't come over here and attack us on our own soil.

I love the fact that the article says brains are back, but then posts a disclaimer about how "he'll probably screw up a lot." Yeah he will "screw up a lot" because he is wrong on nearly every issue that means anything or that the government should be involved in. This is insulting garbage.