The Mole and I

Of course, as the Nielsens have recently shown, a large chunk of Americans and most of the world has been enthralled by the opening moments of the Olympics game. I must admit to a certain thrill watching--live, as far as I was concerned--the men's relay race that would determine if Phelps could sweep eight golds. But my biggest thrill this week came from a totally different competition, whose ratings complemented those of the Olympics (as in very good complements very bad).

This was the finale of "The Mole." If there were no DVRs, it may never have been viewed by anyone, its ratings are so dismal. But I've always enjoyed it, because it was the only cerebral reality show out there. It's the anti-"Big Brother." And I had registered my choice for the Mole, as in past seasons, halfway through the proceedings, and each season discovered my choice was correct. So when it was revealed that the Jolly Fat Guy Craig indeed was the Mole, I jumped out of my seat in triumph. It was the smuggest self-satisfaction I'd felt since I predicted the Aaron Boone pennant-winner against the Red Sox in 2003.

It saddens me that "The Mole" has so few adherents, but its very nature as an intellectual and psychological challenge makes it appeal only to a niche audience. To paraphrase P.T. Barnum, people have gone broke overestimating the public. But I'm certain that if its audience was polled, it would skew very heavily to Obama in the presidential race. The candidate who appeals to the college-educated, to those who appreciate subtlety and nuance and clearheadedness rather than blather. I bet most of the people who watch "Wipeout" are in it for McCain.

I have also been discouraged by how the less-educated can be counted upon to leap to inane Republican propaganda. As I watch the McCain Olympics commercials, they are nothing but slander (insinuating that Obama is a demagogue because of the adoring Evita-like crowds), fabricating a falsehood about Obama's tax plans, and then they devolve into inane platitudes like "McCain is for renewable energy." Well, duh.

Duh is what the Republicans are counting on. I'm sure I've mentioned this somewhere in the 250 posts in this Blogopus, but the first personally realized truism I ever stumbled upon was that you can never try to overcome stupidity, you just have to learn to take advantage of it. I probably knew that even before Karl Rove. The Obama ads are straightforward and thoughtful, laying out clearly many of his programs, without any of the personal sniping that befouls the McCain spots.
But appealing to the intelligent is, in Obama's case, preaching to the choir.

Remember the Democratic primary campaign, whose demographics clearly showed that the most educated sided with Obama, the less-so with Hillary? Despite her privilege, Hillary managed to appeal more to the uneducated because Obama's intelligence (and of course, his race) were off-putting to the ignorant. Obama needs to grab some of this constituency, which means tapping into their dumbness. Hence he is backing off his opposition to the simple-minded and feckless off-shore drilling impetus proposed by McCain, and his fellow Dems have been forced to follow suit. (Frankly I am not so dead opposed to this plan either, but recognize that it is a drop in the bucket and will have next to no effect in lowering gas prices).

Whatever it takes, Barack. If putting on a clown suit and shuffling during the debates will win it for you, by all means go for it. Whatever makes the stupid voter like you better.