KRistof on the dumbing down of the nation's culture:

"Alas, when a politician has the double disadvantage of obvious intelligence and an elite education and then on top of that tries to educate the public on a complex issue Ñ as Al Gore did about climate change Ñ then that candidate is derided as arrogant and out of touch.

The dumbing-down of discourse has been particularly striking since the 1970s. Think of the devolution of the emblematic conservative voice from William Buckley to Bill OÕReilly. ItÕs enough to make one doubt Darwin.

ThereÕs no simple solution, but the complex and incomplete solution is a greater emphasis on education at every level. And maybe, just maybe, this cycle has run its course, for the last seven years perhaps have discredited the anti-intellectualism movement. President Bush, after all, is the movementÕs epitome Ñ and its fruit."