Reply #8: The Kingfish.

[rogerashton]

I've been reading T. Harry Williams' biography of Huey Long, a genuine (if flawed) progressive who had a reputation as a vulgar clown.

Cut to the conclusion.

What people want is someone who really is one of themselves, except moreso. It's cool enough to be smart if you are smart in ways they can conceive they are, only you are moreso. That's an advantage Hollywood Stars and self-made billionaires have -- Joe Everyman really believes that, with a few breaks and a little more effort, he could have been a star and a CEO. But not a college professor. He never wanted to be one of those, and more than that, never understood why anybody wanted to. Still doesn't.

Everybody knew that Huey could be as intelligent and as intellectual as he needed to be, but his clowning and damnfoolery and boozing and brawling gave people the feeling that he was one of them, in the ways that mattered. We need progressives who have that touch.