Let me Explain it to You

Let me explain it to you

The editorial cartoon above ran in the Villages Daily Sun Tuesday, July 15. The hubris of the cartoonist is astounding, as is the lack of homework done prior to drawing this piece of drivel.

Where to start? Ok, let's start by pointing out that rarely is a speaking fee based on wisdom. Dr. Ben Carson commands high fees yet he believes the earth is about 4800 years old! Few high school dropouts are so naive. Former President George W. Bush routinely (141 times since leaving office) "earns" (is paid)  $100-150 thousand per talk.  Most, including Republicans would hesitate to use the adjective "wise" when discussing Bush 43. Sarah Palin has been paid $100,000 for speaking at the graduation ceremonies of a college no one has even heard of.

So, what implies and  imparts  "wisdom" in a person? Experience? Education? Diversity of  endeavor? By those yardsticks, at 34, Chelsea  Cinton leads the above mentioned in most categories. Consider Chelsea Clinton at 34 years of age compared to previous three I named.

I'll simply be kind and point out that Dr. Ben Carson, a groundbreaking neurosurgeon, overcame significant personal obstacles to achieve his well deserved renown in the medical community  In other areas of science, he is a relative dunce. I'm not being unkind, I am simply telling the (probably now highly offended) reader to check out his stances on other scientific issues. His fundamentalist religious beliefs have stunted his intellectual growth outside the neuroscience field. Good guy, scientific tunnel vision.

George W. Bush at 34? Well, it took him 29 years to accomplish an (almost assuredly charitable, since he was a "C" student) MBA. he  then worked a bit in the oil business and by 34 failed in a run for Congress. We know the rest of the publically known and not so publically known facts, including cocaine use, alcoholism, etc. Wisdom? Not so much.

As for Sarah Palin, after five different college stints, she earned a bachelor's degree in communication and, by 32 was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a metropolis of about 7500 persons and huskies, from which , she alleged, she could  "see Russia,"  which apparently constitutes her entire foreign policy portfolio, which earned her second seat on John McCain's ticket in 2008. She resigned from her only elected position as Governor of Alaska.  

So what of Chelsea Cinton? Start with 8 years in the White House, from ages 8 to 16, exposed to the inner workings of government as few ever are. No one ever elected president other than John Quincy Adams has  had similar experience  (I know, "W"s daddy was......., yes, but "W" wasn't there!)  In fact, during his  father's vice presidency, there was at least one incident where brother Jeb Bush intervened between a drunken "W" and George Senior. Chelsea, on the other hand delivered over 100 speeches in support of her mother's Presidential campaign, supporting her, as she had done during Hillary's New York Senate campaign.

Chelsea Clinton has been essentially constantly involved in politics as observer or participant since the age of 2 when she actually accompanied her dad during his Arkansas Gubernatorial race, which is a ton of experience. But, you say, what is experience without the intellectual means to apply it? A National Merit Scholar finalist, Ms. Clinton has a BA in History from Stanford,  an MPhil  in International relations from Oxford, a PhD in International Relations from Oxford, which makes her far better prepared at 34 than either Bush or Palin ever were at any time. Additionally, Ms. Clinton has earned a Master's of Public Health at Columbia, where she is also adjunct faculty.   

Unlike the other three mentioned, Ms Clinton has  broad

 background outside the political In addition to her adjunct faculty post at Columbia University, Ms. Clinton has worked for McKinsey & Company, Avenue Capital Group, and New York University and serves on several boards, including those of the School of American Ballet, Clinton Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative, Common Sense Media, Weill Cornell Medical  College and IAC/InterActiveCorp.

So for those who might still agree with the cartoonist regarding choosing one's parents wisely and wisdom....I have two words - Bristol Palin.