The Last Thing We Need is a Great Leader
POSTED BY: AnthonyT
UPDATED: Friday, September 19, 2025 16:46
VIEWED: 6995
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Hello,
I found this article on CNN, written by the famed magician Penn Jillette. I don't agree with Mr. Jillette on all of his B.S., (pun intended) but I agree with him here.
From: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/02/jillette.presidency/index.html
--Anthony
The Last Thing We Need is a Great Leader
By Penn Jillette
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Penn Jillette -- the larger, louder half of Penn & Teller -- is a magician, comedian, actor, author and producer.
Obama and McCain both promise a government that will watch over us ... "I don't like that," says Penn Jillette.
(CNN) -- Everyone I talk to seems to think the president of the United States right now is stupid.
The Bush presidency is stupid speeches, stupid high gas prices, stupid bad economy, stupid war on terrorism, stupid war on drugs, stupid hurricane fixing, stupid global warming, stupid war -- stupid, stupid, stupid.
They all seem to think we need to get a smarter guy in the White House fast, and Bush is so stupid, that task shouldn't be too hard.
Not me.
I'd like to say that I believe every president in United States history, including the stupid one we have now, is smarter than me. My alma mater is Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth Clown College, so I'm damning with faint praise, but I'm stupider than this here stupid president.
Maybe I'm less stupider than Bush than I'm stupider than Jefferson. But I'm stupider than all the stupid in both of them put together.
The idea, especially from the Democrats that I know, is, we just get a smarter guy in the White House, and all the problems will go away. We'll have smart speeches, smart high gas prices, smart bad economy, smart war on terrorism, smart war on drugs, smart hurricanes, smart global warming, smart war in Georgia -- smart, smart, smart.
Barack Obama is way smarter than Bush -- so way, way smarter than me. Obama is way more charismatic than me. He did his big speech for about 80,000 people; I'll do my show tonight in Vegas for about 1,000 people. He's more ambitious than I; he's going to be the next president of the United States, and I couldn't even get to week three of "Dancing with the Stars."
Obama is a great leader. He can fire people up and get them to do what he wants. He does smart speeches that promise everyone everything they need and make us feel good about our country and how much greater our government could be.
But I don't think our next president being a great leader is a good thing.
I'm worried about someone smarter than Bush taking over that tremendous power. Charisma and ambition increase my fear exponentially, and a great leader scares me to death.
We need someone stupid enough to understand that the president of the United States can't solve many problems without taking away freedom and therefore shouldn't try. The only reason John McCain scares me a little less is because I think he's a little less likely to win. They both promise a government that will watch over us, and I don't like that.
I don't want anyone as president who promises to take care of me. I may be stupid, but I want a chance to try to be a grown-up and take care of my family. Freedom means the freedom to be stupid, and that's what I want. I don't want anyone to feel my pain or tell me to ask what we can do for our country, or give us all money and take care of us.
Gene Healy at the Cato Institute explains that the Founding Fathers wanted the president "to faithfully execute the laws, defend the country from attack and check Congress with the veto power whenever it exceeded its constitutional bounds."
That sounds like plenty to me. You gotta be smarter than me to do all that, but you don't have to be as smart as Obama, and you sure don't have to be a great leader.
Our first seven presidents averaged a bit more than three public speeches a year, and they didn't promise jobs for everyone, day care, dental exams and free stuff.
It's really hard to find someone who trusts Americans to take care of themselves and eac
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Hear hear!
That's the stupidist smart thing I've ever heard Jilly think.
But on 9/11 Truth he's the antichrist.
Quote:
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on."
-George W Bush, Gridiron Dinner, March 2001
"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."
-George W Bush, Nashville, Tennessee, Sept 17, 2002
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Any Government capable of giving you all that you want, is also capable of taking all that you have.
When it comes to Government, a little goes a damn long way, don'tcha know ?
-F
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Sometimes I agree with Freddy (except when hes calling me a goddamned racist...then hes just an assclown.)
But here hes right. We don't need government to give us everything (or anything). We need to have the balls to do it ourselves. For fucks sake people, we are goddamn Americans. We carved a nation out of nothing, walked on the moon, fought 2 world wars (and won), beat back the horrors of National Socialism, taught the world about democracy, and carried the torch of self-determination.
Yes, we've made mistakes. Yes, its not as simple as I've made it out to be above, nor as pretty. But FUCK THAT SHIT.
We are NOT fattened ticks. We don't need government to 'take care of us".
What we NEED to do is remember. Remember who and what we are. Who and what our fathers and forefathers fought and died for.
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You're all way, way smarter than me, and right, too. We don't need government to take care of us - except when they spy on us for our own good, of course - that's what corporations are for. After all, I'm sure ExxonMobil and GlaxoSmithKline and Beatrice Holding Company have our best interests at heart and would never, ever do anything illegal, or even mildly unethical, or simply unkind.
***************************************************************
Global warming - it's not just a fact, it's a choice.
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I can agree with some of what Penn says, but the bit about not wanting a President that's smarter than me? Why the fuck wouldn't I want that? Why is there something seen in this country as inherently wrong with the idea that the President of the United States should be the smartest guy in any room he's in? Why is it a BAD idea to have an intelligent person in the White House?
We've tried doing it the other way for the last eight years. How's that workin' out for ya? We have a below-average student with around a 130 IQ (hardly MENSA material), who knows he's not very bright, but refuses to listen to anyone else who is both smarter AND more knowledgable about the particular issues they're addressing.
What I don't want is four more years of another "Me Too" NeoCon jerkoff. The last eight have very nearly ruined our nation.
Mike
"I supported Bush in 2000 and 2004 and intellegence[sic] had very little to do with that decision." - Hero, Real World Event Discussions
I can't help the sinking feeling that my country is now being run by people who read "1984" not as a cautionary tale, but rather as an instruction manual. - Michael Mock
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You mean normally I'm not ?
Hey, stop it, I might get misty on ya. 
It's funny though, what you said there, that's prettymuch my take on it too - we seem to have forgotten who the hell we are, or been taught to forget it by those who would rather we do so.
Fuck em, it's high time we reminded the powers that be that WE are the bosses, and they are the employees - but gettin that done ain't exactly easy since it requires the breaking of laws that never shoulda been passed in the first place.
Comes a time when respect for an idiotic and unconstitutional law is just plain cowardice.
"Gee, I never been in trouble with the Law before...."
Jayne, Sarcastic, hehe
If we "refuse to play ball" en-masse, we can, and WILL win the day, just like we did with prohibition.
"If the mudders are together on a thing, there's too many of us..."
They can't put us ALL in slam, who would fill their pockets then, ehe ?
-Frem
It cannot be said enough, those who do not learn from history, are doomed to endlessly repeat it
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you haven't noticed that when Bush/Cheney deregulated, the corporations and speculators moved in and exploited it?
The Enron scandal was thanks to the current administration,
the predatory lending by deregulated banks led to the current housing crisis and the bail outs of the mortgage companies,
and the high gas prices are a direct result of deregulation in oil/petroleum trading....
When you put the foxes in charge of the chicken coop then you can't be surprised that the chickens will suffer.
We are closer to a complete economic collapse than we have been since the great depression:
most people in this country are one paycheck or one severe illness/accident from homelessness.
most people are living on credit which they have no hope of paying off...
unemployment is rising, the dollar is getting weaker...
and you figure that everything is cool and we don't need any leadership?
*eyeroll*
New Firefly fans should check this out: http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.asp?b=2&t=15816
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Quote:
Originally posted by Wulfenstar:
But here hes right. We don't need government to give us everything (or anything). We need to have the balls to do it ourselves. For fucks sake people, we are goddamn Americans. We carved a nation out of nothing, walked on the moon, fought 2 world wars (and won), beat back the horrors of National Socialism, taught the world about democracy, and carried the torch of self-determination.
I don't know what's funnier, that you posted that or that you believe it.
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the logic escapes me
when the president is stupid, or less smart than other potential presidents, taht just means he's that much more easily used, by his own party, his lobbyists, his donors.
the president is supposed to be a check and a balance on ohter branches, he is supposed to bring wisdom and a certain independance to the table. If he can't do that, then we get what bush did to every agency, to our budget, to our cities, to our image abroad...etc. etc. etc.
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