# Are "Professional Politicians" Smarter Than the Public? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 12, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746 "2011-07-12T14:48:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/1 "2011-07-12T14:48:29Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/64yhiih53F4/hqdefault.jpg "Obama : 'Professional Politicians' Understand Debt Crisis Better Than 'The Public'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64yhiih53F4) > [@](#): > > [In the course of the president’s press conference](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/post/obama-professional-politicians-and-the-boring-debt-ceiling/2011/07/11/gIQAosV48H_blog.html) on raising the debt ceiling today, a questioner noted that 69 percent of the American public do not support raising the debt ceiling. > > There is, President Obama responded, a difference between the public and professional politicians. > > That’s good to know! > > It turns out that I was right not to worry about the debt ceiling. The professional politicians have this in hand. > > Worry about Treasury rates? The public shouldn’t. “They have a lot of things on their plate,” Obama said. Does it take someone who is “smarter” to run for a political position? Does it take someone who is “smarter” to win said position? Maybe it takes someone who is “smarter” to come up with the vast amount of money necessary to run. Was it “smart” of President Obama to call elected politicians “professionals”? I’d say that his statement proves that some politicians are not smart at all. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/2 "2011-07-12T14:51:17Z")
Reported for wrong forum. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/3 "2011-07-12T14:51:36Z")
This seems more like an opinion thread to me, but I’d like to say that 69% of Americans are sheep. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/4 "2011-07-12T14:54:36Z")
The general populace is pretty stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/5 "2011-07-12T14:57:14Z")
Since there is no factual answer to this, I’m moving it to IMHO from GQ. Colibri Gen ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/6 "2011-07-12T14:58:34Z")
I certainly hope that the President and at least most members of congress understand the debt ceiling better than I do. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/7 "2011-07-12T15:04:55Z")
It depends what you mean by “smarter”, but yes, and no. Obama was an attorney, which immediately makes him better educated than like 80% of the general public. But that isn’t what makes him smarter. He is also working with advisors who are highly educated and experienced in the fields of economics, law, government, international relations and so on. So collectively, the government leadership is “smarter” than the general public much in the same way you are smarter about your job than the person off the street. The purpose of democracy is not so that the government can manage to the opinion of every idiot off the street. It is to create “checks and balances” that allow the people to provide feedback and incentives (ie letting you keep your job) so that the government will work in the people’s best interest (even if the people don’t really understand what their best interests are). ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/8 "2011-07-12T15:10:35Z")
The average member of the public really does not understand a lot about how it all fits together. The question, “Should the debt ceiling be increased?” sounds like, “Should the debt be increased?” – and they know (and have been told by GOP politicians) that debt is bad, so they say, “No”. The average politician ought to know why the debt ceiling ought to be increased, what would happen if it weren’t, and what might be politically possible to change the debt in both the short and long terms. But the general public gets that all digested into 5-second sound bites, e.g., “No tax increases”, “Cut government waste”, “Fix Medicare and Social Security.” ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/9 "2011-07-12T15:10:47Z")
Politicians are elected from the public. So if as Chefguy states, 69% of the public are sheep, then a large percentage of “professional politicians” would also be so. Unless you want to argue that only the non-sheep get elected, which would be hard to prove. @ **msmith537** - > [@](#): > > even if the people don’t really understand what their best interests are Only I know what my best interests are, no politician (professional or otherwise) knows that better than me. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/10 "2011-07-12T15:14:56Z")
I wouldn’t say they’re smarter than the public, but they damn well better be better educated about the issues they’re working on. My job requires that I understand what my team is working on and make decisions about what the best path is for them to take to arrive at our desired objectives. Their jobs are to be educated about the issues they are deciding and to make the necessary decisions to get us to the desired outcome. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/11 "2011-07-12T15:15:56Z")
How much does Obama make? How much do you make? Who has the better pension plan? Who have the better health plan? Who has to take their shoes off to fly somewhere? You are asking who is smarter? Part of it is goals, motivation, dumb luck, and not IQ. One key point is how happy you are. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/12 "2011-07-12T15:18:31Z")
> [@Bloodless\_Turnip](#): > > Does it take someone who is “smarter” to run for a political position? In the quote, “smart” was never mentioned. Sugar-cutters know much more about cutting cane than I do; that doesn’t mean they’re “smarter.” Now, does a Congressman have more knowledge of political issues than an average member of the public does? _ **I sure as heck hope so; don’t you?** _ It wouldn’t be hard for an intelligent engineer or physician to develop an intelligent view of economics (especially if they read _Economist_ rather than reading _Money_ or watching TV), but I’d bet on the professional economist to know more economics, even if his IQ is less than that of the engineer or physician. To imagine an average member of the public to have an intelligent view on government spending is silly. The same 69% who oppose raising the debt ceiling are probably the same 69% who think foreign aid is a big budget item(\*). Please [read about the Dunning-Kruger Effect](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect). The more you think you know, the less you probably do! 🆒 (\* - a particularly silly thought since most of U.S.'s relatively small aid goes to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Israel, all targets the same red-neck is likely to approve of.) ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/13 "2011-07-12T15:22:49Z")
@septimus - > [@](#): > > Afghanistan, Iraq, and Israel, all targets the same red-neck is likely to approve of.) What has that got to do with the question? @Moonlitherial - I’m not convinced that they are better educated on those issues. Doing what is best for your re-election isn’t necessarily the same as doing what is best for the country 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/14 "2011-07-12T15:32:26Z")
I remember being lectured, at length, a few years ago about how it was possible to be President of the United States and still be dumber than a box of rocks. So no, I don’t think professional politicians are particularly smart. They’re schmoozers, glad-handers, and ass-kissers. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/15 "2011-07-12T15:32:36Z")
Smart is not the same as knowledgeable. We all have a tendency to think we’re smarter than everyone else. A jury hears days or weeks of testimony and reaches a unanimous verdict. We hear a three-minute synopsis, reach the opposite conclusion, and decide the jurors are idiots. A politician assigns staff members to study something for a few weeks and report back. Hopefully, that report is factual and in-depth. The politician has better info than we do, but we’re happy to second-guess things. Heck, I do it all the time. But I am usually questioning their motivation rather than their smarts. ---
**Author:** ![Bloodless\_Turnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/16 "2011-07-12T15:42:50Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I remember being lectured, at length, a few years ago about how it was possible to be President of the United States and still be dumber than a box of rocks. > > So no, I don’t think professional politicians are particularly smart. They’re schmoozers, glad-handers, and ass-kissers. Yes, me too. I remember that distinctly. ---
**Author:** ![Profound\_Gibberish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Profound\_Gibberish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profound_Gibberish)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/17 "2011-07-12T15:51:39Z")
Intelligence is one thing. Wisdom (i.e. applied intelligence) is quite another. There are a lot of smart professional politicans. There are also alot of ignorant ass-kissers. Wisdom seems to be in short supply in some circles. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/18 "2011-07-12T16:05:31Z")
There’s also a difference between smart, clever, sly, and slippery. Mix and match as you please. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/19 "2011-07-12T16:08:46Z")
> [@Bloodless\_Turnip](#): > > @septimus - > > What has that got to do with the question? Did you read the rest of my reply? The parenthetical comment that mystified you was just further evidence that 69% of the American public isn’t as smart as they think they are. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746/20 "2011-07-12T16:25:27Z")
There’s a difference between smarter and better informed. A doctor may not be smarter than me but he’s better informed about medicine. A car mechanic may not be smarter than me but he’s better informed about fixing cars. A politician may not be smarter than me but he’s better informed about how the government works. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-professional-politicians-smarter-than-the-public/588746.md?page=2)