Political Meritocracy

The American dream is based on merit, the belief that success can come to anyone provided they work hard for it. As some many pundits have exclaimed recently, Obama’s election victory is perhaps the single greatest example of this pursuit. Not only is the president-elect soon to lead the country, he is already the unofficial leader of the American meritocracy. Is this meritocracy’s greatest hour?

Unfortunately, current events since the election have been a rude reminder since the inspiring campaign of ’08. Blagoyevich has been impeached for trying to “sell” Obama’s Senate seat. This is offensive as not only illegal and immoral, but also goes against our meritocratic sensibilities. It is wrong to give political power to the highest bidder, rather than the person most suited for the job. The same scenario is occurring in New York. Caroline Kennedy has emerged from political obscurity as a leading contender for Clinton’s seat. Why is she in the running? The Kennedy name. I don’t wish to bash either Kennedy or Burris; they may be the best man and woman for the job. The dubiousness of the process, however, deserves some scrutinizing.

This has led me to consider the state of American political meritocracy. I’ve only really been able to follow two presidential elections, 2004 and 2008. And I feel most of the candidates have not embodied the American meritocratic ideal. Bush was helped by his name, perhaps even pushed into the presidency, despite not being very competent. Kerry is a billionaire. Hillary became qualified via her husband’s success. McCain’s billionaire wife can’t have hurt his run. Mitt Romney wouldn’t have been able to run without his personal fortune. The exceptions are Bill Clinton and Joe Biden. At what level, then, does the meritocracy break down? It seems that many politicians occupy the highest strata at least partially due to unmeritocratic reasons.

The other dimension is the public’s reaction to political meritocracy. I am firmly a belief that politicians should be based on merit. And it’s safe to say that most my fellow countrymen are proud of the American dream, of our meritocratic society. Yet I still see this break down in politics. The most obvious and recent example is Sarah Palin. She was, I admit, phenomenally popular with a certain base. I believe people supported her as a politician, however, for unmeritocratic reasons. She was normal, someone the average American felt comfortable with, not necessarily the most competent leader. Historically, American politicians have always tried to present the image of being common, non-elitist. They of course also argue for your vote based on meritocratic reasons (greater experience, for example), but it’s always been a danger to be “too smart” for the presidency.

My belief that Obama’s victory has brought a resurgence in meritocracy still stands. My hope is that, should Obama’s term(s) prove particularly successful (he certainly has enough challenges to shine in), our country will move even further towards political meritocracy.


Sources:
Nicolas Lehman, “The Smart Club Comes to Town,” New York Times, November 29, 1992: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE3DB1038F93AA15752C1A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1

Faltering Meritocracy in America, The Economist, December 29th 2004:
http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3518560