Average Is Beautiful. But in a Leader?

There is lots of science to show that average is beautiful. But I have never understood why averageness was a desirable trait in a political candidate. That Bush was "an average guy" was the political battle cry manufactured by Karl Rove. I didn't understand the desirability of that statement back in 2000 and I still don't understand it now. But at least it was manufactured. After all, how can you possibly be average if your father was President?

But in the case of Sarah Palin, though, I do believe she is truly average. The average person, for instance, would not necessarily know what the Bush Doctrine was. After her interview with Charles Gibson, it's clear Palin doesn't know what it is either:

One might hypothesize, however, that someone suited for the political world would be familiar with the Bush Doctrine. This might make this person above average, not to mention a better candidate. Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com wrote a great column today asking Where is the debate over the Bush Doctrine? He shows that Ron Paul, John McCain, and Barack Obama are all familiar with the Bush Doctrine and its meaning. Average simply isn't good enough to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency...