So I was listening to retired Middlebury College professor (and ineludible go-to guy for election analysis in Vermont) Eric Davis this morning on the Mark Johnson Show. And it hit me…
Pundit Laureate.
We’ve got Poets Laureate. They provide a highbrow sheen to the mundane events of public life, a little academic fairy-dust to the grey landscape.
Pundits do much the same. From Walter Lippmann to David Broder to tne NPR tag team of E.J. Dionne and David Brooks, they turn the messy business of politics into a Platonian dialogue, and festoon conventional wisdom with the baubles of putative knowledge.
We need a Pundit Laureate. And we need Eric Davis as the inaugural titleholder. Imagine the swearing-in of the Governor: after a brief dribble from the Poet Laureate, Eric Davis will take the stage in an elaborate outfit (I suggest this one) and deliver a brief exposition on What It All Means.
I can think of no finer way to commemorate public occasions. Eric Davis for Pundit Laureate!
With no penalty for being continually incorrect. Eric Davis may know politics, but he needs to take his crystal ball to the repair shop, as it currently doesn’t even pass inspection and is a danger to everyone practicing good governance in Vermont.
I have nothing against Mr. Davis, but it always seems as if he is the go-to person when any Vermont newspaper, TV station or radio station wants a quick “talking head” summation of the latest political story. It might make things a little more interesting if Vermont media bothered to look up a few other political scientists now and then.