Friday, December 09, 2011

The thing about Scott Brown

A new poll has Scott Brown (R.MA) down 7 points in a match-up with Harvard Professor and Democratic senatorial candidate Elizabeth Warren.  Surprising, but it's 11 months before the election so perhaps not all that meaningful.

The thing about Scott Brown is that he's not all that bright.  Listen to him.  Do you sense a deep intelligence, curiosity about the issues that confront us, a quest to solve problems?  If you do, please let me know.  (I met Scott Brown briefly in his Senate office; he did not impress.)

Now, we don't always vote for the smartest candidate.  Some very intelligent people cannot get along with others--they would not be good members of a representative body.  Some geniuses have no sense of reality, of the practical.  And as Sen. Roman Hruska said of Judge Harold Carswell after Nixon nominated him to the Supreme Court,  "there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they, and a little chance?"  Scott Brown may need to rely on that kind of "thinking" if he hopes to get re-elected.

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