(And the teleprompter thing is just dumb. Every politician uses one.)

And many of the things that Democrats have been advocating for, which could have been said to been aimed at the lower income families, will start helping out middle class families if there is trouble.

Are you referring to social safety nets like unemployment insurance or welfare? Yes, those things will help if there’s trouble but what liberal policies help an average middle class family that is doing pretty well? Not many. Conservative policies tend to be more concerned with maintaining what works while liberal policies tend to be more concerned with preparing for if it doesn’t. Maybe that’s a good balance.

The reasons being is that the Republicans have come off as very unconcerned with the plight of the middle class during the “recession”. As recently as April McCain was saying it was in everyone’s head. They’ve been really reluctant to help out any families during the mortgage crisis as well.

And many of the things that Democrats have been advocating for, which could have been said to been aimed at the lower income families, will start helping out middle class families if there is trouble.

I feel like these things make it harder for the GOP to reconnect with the middle class, and appear non elitist.

Non-elitist GOP candidates were vital to that strategy for years and may continue to be.

On “Why don’t Republicans want their candidates to be smart?” I have a few thoughts.

I grew up watching TV shows paint Republicans as yacht-club, champange-sipping elitists. Think of the Bush 41 Newsweek “Wimp Factor” cover. Or the bumper sticker “I’m too poor to vote Republican.”

At some point, Republicans got tired of being labeled (sigh) elitist and decided to go on a conquest. Voters who had been LBJ Democrats became Reagan Republicans. And that demographic has been very fertile ground. The GOP’s success in capturing Joe Six-Pack has been the story of the party, if not of American electoral politics, at least since Bush 43, probably since Reagan.

So bragging about how smart Republican candidates are does not help the GOP with its new bread-and-butter demographic. It would alienate them and put the GOP back in the yacht-club box.

And here’s incredibly Candid observation from me. Look at the candidates who have come down the pipeline for the GOP recently. There’s not a lot of intellectual cred to brag about. (I’d hasten to point out that Richard Nixon was too smart for his own (and possibly everyone else’s) good and that there have been and can be smart Republicans.)

John McCain: went to “about 20 schools” through high school and thus didn’t take school seriously. Graduates Annapolis ranked 894 out of 899.

GWB: Graduates Yale with GPA of 2.35.

(GHWB: graduates Yale in 2.5 years, PBK degree in Economics. Lost Joe Six Pack to Clinton in 92.)

Reagan: said that attending Eureka College was a great chance for him to play football for a few more years.

“2″ – http://www.wordpress.com. Knock yourself out! :)

“3″ – if you rub off the later characterizations of him from his time as President, you may recall that Bill Clinton ran on his intellectual bona fides. I also can’t help noting that scant paragraphs after dismissing GWB as not being relevant, you bring up Kerry to knock the knees out from under pro-intellectualism.

All that being said, I think his stance on FISA is moo-poo, and it has seriously compromised my faith in his ability to do the right thing. It hasn’t decided my vote, yet, but I’m a lot less solid than I was.

~ John