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Pseudo-intellectual Arrogance on Display in Dominican PoliticsWith just over three weeks to go before the long-suffering Dominican electorate trudges off to the polls to elect a new president or re-elect the old one, we take a break from our undeclared election news blackout.I'm honoured to present a guest entry from fellow blogger RHM, a former U.S. Army Paratrooper and Viagra salesman, currently playing the role of educator and blogger in the Dominican Republic. You can find RHM blogging daily at TheCandidacy.com about U.S. politics and beyond. I used to think I was alone in having grown tired of President Leonel Fernandez's arrogance. Thankfully, if recent polls are any indication, I'm not alone and a first-round win looks less certain every day. Polls give him anywhere between 40% and 52% of the vote and those numbers seem to be going down. I believe there are two reasons for this.  First, people of all stripes are experiencing Leonel-fatigue. This happens to all elected politicians who manage to stay in the game as long as he has. Remember, he served as President of the Republic from 1996-2000. This will be his third term (interrupted). It is impossible to be around that long without people getting tired of looking at your face. Throw in a steady mix of business-as-usual corruption and suddenly a 40% approval rating looks "Thatcher-esque"¯ (a British reference for a British Blog). Second, and more telling of the people's tolerance for arrogance over the long haul, is the public reaction to his recent comments regarding a formal debate with his opponents. In short, after praising his own skills and training as a lawyer, he declared it's just not worth his time because the others are "unable to conceptualize"¯ and suffer from a "crisis of thought"¯. People are getting tired of hearing about how smart he is and how dumb they are. If you're so smart, Mr. President, why not agree to a debate and just let the others hang themselves? It's time to prove your superior intellect instead of just asserting it. In other words, stop telling me how funny you are - make me laugh. 4:06 PM - Apr. 20, 2008
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