Nina Carlotti
2008-10-28 09:22:54
Noonan is correct in deploring the “dumbing down” of the American polity, and in identifying Palin as an especially egregious example of the trend. Once there was a place for intellectuals on the right.
Cato’s comment denigrating Noonan for her humble origins misses the point in a remarkably un-American way. Indeed, Noonan may be a mere “Irish girl”–thank you very much, sir–born in “obscurity,” but she followed the American dream and made something of herself, not simply in financial but in intellectual terms. Palin has not only signally failed to do so, but seems to feel she should be indulged, if not admired, for her ignorance.
