i’m so against this i can’t even type properly. ok, let me clarify (before you tar and feather me): i’m not against the president taking questions over the internet. i’m not against him clearing up his agenda before the American people. i’m hugely in favor of that.

what i am against is the last part of the article (excerpted below; do read the full article for the context. never good to take things at face value if they are out of context).

“Average people get to shape the outcome, like ‘American Idol,’” Rosenberg said. “This is not a couch-potato age. Average people are expecting to be part of the process.” … Obama remains a popular figure, although the country and Congress are reluctant to embrace his budget proposals. Aides say that the more the president talks about his plans — and frames his budget proposal through real-world needs — the more Americans would be swayed.

if average people want to start shaping policy and politics, they need to get themselves more educated. and if we’re going this route, do we still need to pay congressmen? i’m not even joking. if, as the obama aid implies, obama plans to convince the american people to support something that our congressmen have reservations about — and then i’m assuming we’ll all cry foul when the congressmen don’t vote the way we want them to — then why do we have them? the congressmen, i mean. i know why we have average americans.

ok, seriously, this is me. and we all know how little i think of congress. the word slithering always comes to mind when i think of it. but still. we pay our congressmen to know their stuff, to be well-educated in things like economics, law, policy, politics, etc., so that we don’t have to — because mostly, the average american just doesn’t. we pay them to act with our best interest (but not necessarily our direct wishes) in mind.

i’m willing to concede that congress has let us down hugely recently. and that if they won’t prove they know their stuff, then the people are going to rise up. and if that’s what’s going on, then so be it. maybe we need a voter’s revolution. maybe we need to make congress feel more accountable to us — because i’m not sure i want to redirect power to the average american. maybe congress should launch a similar talk — talk about all their reservations and considerations for various obama plans. help us understand not just what to support, but why its worth supporting.

of course, people who are usually most vocal in this sort of thing (web chats, etc) are the people who know the least. this post is a great case in point.