If conservatives are dumb, why do they win so much?

John C. Lovelace, St. George, Utah

Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010 | 2:02 a.m.

I read the Las Vegas Sun editorial page daily, and there are often letters to the editor about Sarah Palin, a good deal of the time questioning her intelligence. I find this attack on her intelligence to be particularly interesting.

As the son of a minor Democratic functionary of the 1940s and ’50s, I was introduced to politics at a very early age. I would like to relate some observations from my experiences.

When Dwight Eisenhower was elected president, the liberals/progressives began the mantra that he was stupid and only wanted to play golf. During the Ford administration, Gerald Ford was attacked as being stupid and one who played football without a helmet for too long.

Of course, Ronald Reagan was just a stupid “B” movie actor and George W. Bush was so dumb he couldn’t say nuclear.

Sarah Palin is not the president, but attacks along similar lines are occurring. Does anyone detect a trend within the liberal/progressive Democratic Party?

I always thought it somewhat ironic that the dumb people seemed to win elections over the elite liberal/progressive intellectuals, such as Adlai Stevenson, Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale and John Kerry.

This dumb attack on conservatives has been in effect for at least 60 years; perhaps it is time the liberals/progressives update their play book!