If you conduct a google search for the phrase “university twit,” what pops up is a photo of me in a T-shirt and mortarboard. It’s a long story involving a fellow Knox County commissioner and the day he called me a university twit, but the incident gives me some “street cred” to write about the difficult task of using one’s intelligence without being dismissed as a wonk (Michael Dukakis), nerd (Al Gore), or elitist (John Kerry).

Thanks to the mythologies built up around Ronald Reagan, Republicans get a pass on these things. All they have to do is munch on some pork rinds, don a cowboy hat, or raise a beer and the matter is settled. If your first reaction is a retort about their prep schools, Ivy League legacy admissions, wealthy contributors, or millionaire-coddling policies, you’ve disqualified yourself from this debate.

More after the break.