Bowling for Votes

For the record, I don't give a load of flaming dingo's kidneys whether or not the next President of the United States can bowl a good frame. Or play Choctaw Rules stickball, for that matter. Nor do I care if he (or she) is someone I could sit down and have a beer with. I'd actually prefer a President who I am comfortably certain is smarter than me. For a change. Letting Obama go bowling was a classic amateur's mistake; never let your candidate do something in public he or she isn't good at. If your candidate is a city-slicker, for example, don't try to get him to milk a cow for the cameras. And if your man hasn't touched a bowling ball in 30 years, don't saunter into an ally in some misguided attempt to show the locals you are "one of them." You run the risk of looking condescending; though it seems uniquely American that our candidates "put on airs" by trying to seem LESS smart, LESS educated and LESS rich than they actually are. However, Obama has handled the criticism well; Americans love candidates with a self-deprecating sense of humor. And his poll numbers (particularly the 70% result for "shares the values of Americans") remain encouraging. Obama has been refreshing in his refusal to "dumb down" his image in order to appeal to voters; he should stick with that. I think the country's had enough of urban cowboys to last us awhile.