That’s not just snark. That goes to the heart of it. You didn’t use what you did know when you needed it. There is not a person on the planet who knows enough about the countries and cultures the next president will have to deal with to be of any advantage whatsoever. Greater is the danger that a little knowledge plus arrogance will fool a president into thinking he knows more than he does and acting accordingly. That, and not reflexive nationalism, is why conservatives are highly suspicious of those who think the tidbits they picked up talking with urbane people are valuable.

Example: I have two Romanian sons and have traveled to Romania many times. I know a lot of Romanian history and culture and have some sense of how Romanians think. If I were president and thought for one minute that I was therefore even 1% qualified to make decisions about our interaction with Romania without seeking advice, I would be a complete ass.

Well, okay, I’d be a complete ass either way. But you take my point.

If you really want to see something scary, take a look at this video Andrew Sullivan has on his blog

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/les-misbarack.html

The scary thing is that I don’t think it’s a spoof.

It’s not hard, but you will notice that you DO move your shoulders and some of the muscles in there when using mouse or keyboard. Not a lot, but still, some.

And if your shoulders are messed up joint wise, that means any motion there is not exactly “nice”. Even if you could move a mouse and use keys, you won’t be able to do it for long. Not like we can.

Typing as much as I have? How many times have I moved my right hand from the keys to the mouse, back again, and so forth and so on? How many times have I used the small muscles in my shoulders, not just my arms, when doing so?

So much for all these new computer technos whose pride re basic physical finger skills far exceeds their ability to think, let alone, have and use the knowledge of how to make an argument, and then procede to support it with logical and substantial thought.

(Just as an aside, do since the ubiquitousness of computers, do kids learn to actually write with fingers and pencils/pens anymore other than develop a flourished scribble for credit card use?)

Oh, and went on the Griswold “Pig in a Poke” world tour, perhaps got a beret that said “Barry” on it.

And let’s not forget eating a variety of national cuisines at Chicago restaurants. Money can’t buy that kind of experience. Well, it can, but you know what I mean.

And he stood in front of styrofoam Greek columns at his beatification, so we can check the box for Greece.

Yessir, he does have lots of foreign experience.

This is how the Left operates. This how they think. You cannot change faith nor fix it. Faith fixes you. And in this, the Left’s faith in Obama surely will fix you.

Robert Kagan, prominent neoconservative says it’s elitist to expect a President of the United States to be knowledgeable about national security issues:

In case people hadn’t noticed, Sarah isn’t President, yet.

You don’t think the Left is a bit too premature in fighting President Sarah Palin now?

Using email doesn’t teach you anything about how the Internet works or about the security and regulatory issues facing it.

“Progressives” tend to view people largely in terms of their consumption patterns, and this is more of the same.

A lost opportunity, I’d say: If McCain really wanted to prove his reform credentials, he would have said, “Sen. Obama has proved how little he knows about weapons systems. We don’t need to slow-walk FCS. We need to kill it.”