You're absolutely right, King-- absolutely right. That debate is a sign of how low things have gone since then. The Republicans, in pandering to the ignoramuses (who was it that had a very good post on the trends that have led the GOP to start appealing to voters with Ted Nugent and the Duck People?) have driven the trend. But it doesn't mean Obama can't be held responsible for following that debasing anti-intellectual low-brow trend.
Nor is the UK some sort of idyllic paragon of erudition and tradition- it happens there too. Whether it be David Cameron's shameful populist dithering on whether or not he would wear morning dress to Prince William's wedding (a baffling episode, considering the invitation quite clearly stipulated that that was the required attire), or right to the very top with the Queen's frankly undignified stunt with Daniel Craig at the Olympics. The regrettable desire to be seen as "popular", "cool", "branché", etc, is pervasive in society and has had a rather extirpative effect upon politics, as we see here.
This, of course, is why I have always said there must be a greater degree of separation between the electorate and the electoral process. In other words, it is better to be "out of touch" with the voters and "in tune" with the issues of the day, for as long as the two are not synonymous.
Don't be such a priss... if anyone is in a place to judge what is dignified and proper for a Queen to do... it's the Queen.
