Now They Tell Us

Piggybacking on the fact that Monica Lewinsky has earned a degree from the London School of Economics this story discusses celebrities and politicians who seem "dumb," but who actually turn out to be "smart."

What's remarkable is what the piece concedes about the oft-vilified Dan Quayle:

But Dan "potatoe" Quayle is a good example. It is easy to remember his dumb moments, but it's its also worth recalling that Quayle earned a law degree and was the youngest-ever senator from Indiana when he was elected. These are accomplishments that require -- at the very least -- emotional intelligence and some intellectual capacity, if not the genius of, say, Jessica Simpson.

Not so incidentally, he was also an expert on missile defense, and took the lead (along with Ted Kennedy) in drafting and passing a major piece of legislation, the Jobs Training Partnership Act. Funny how we never heard these facts at the time, isn't it?

Like President Bush, VP Quayle was not glib -- and he was a Republican. Together those facts meant he had to be stupid, . . . at least in the assessment of the MSM and other elites, which prize the ability to talk far above the ability to do. What's more, it wouldn't have been seemly in the eyes of the left-tilting MSM for the first baby boomer president to have been someone like Dan Quayle.

Much better to wait for a glib liberal . . . like Bill Clinton.