"I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Computers"
by Jean Carnahan
Why do Republicans feel they have to “dumb down” their
presidential candidates? George Bush
doesn’t read newspapers—and few books.
Now John McCain tells us he doesn’t know squat about computers.
McCain’s
list of disqualifications for serving as a world leader in the 21st
century continues to astound the mind.
Today, computer literacy is not an option for anyone over the age of
three. Though some people choose to be
troglodytes and take great pride in their lack of technological skills, the president of the most advanced nation
on earth should not be one of them.
McCain
has the audacity to call Obama “out of touch” because he looks uncomfortable at
Cactus Willie’s All You Can Eat Catfish Bar.
By comparison, McCain is in a
time warp, a Rip Van Winkle, rubbing his eyes as he tries to adjust to a new reality.
Like “W”, McCain has never struck me as having an
inquisitive mind. That appears to have been the case even at the Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1958 ranking 894th
out of 899 cadets. What a stark
comparison to Thomas Jefferson who was described by his biographer as someone
who “could calculate an eclipse, survey an estate, tie an artery, plan an
edifice, try a case, break a horse, dance a minuet, and play the violin.”
And, that was all before he ever wrote the Declaration of Independence. I
don’t expect our next president to write anything so grand, but it would be
nice if he could at least send an email or Google a bit of information from
time to time.