Thread by @charles_gaba

“Elite” means “the best”. That’s who you’re SUPPOSED to want running things. Every action film goes on and on about how the protagonist is an “elite soldier” etc.

This is @chucktodd’s “Hillary is overprepared” bullshit all over again.

https://twitter.com/newshour/status/1331375053183791111

Some seem to have misunderstood my point. I'm NOT saying that attending an Ivy League school automatically makes you the most qualified for a job, and lord knows it doesn't mean you're a good or decent person. Half of Trump's cabinet went to Harvard/Yale and they're assholes. 2/

For that matter, *I'm* considered (by some, anyway) to be a trustworthy, reliable source for ACA/healthcare policy data analysis despite only having a bachelor's degree from Michigan State & having NO official experience in the healthcare, insurance or actuarial fields. 2/

What I *am* saying is that while having Impressive Credentials in a field doesn't automatically mean you'll do a fantastic job, it shouldn't be looked at as a *negative* either. I'm sure Biden doesn't plan on appointing me head of HHS or CMS, and I'd be horrified if he did. 3/

Put another way: If I'm having specialized surgery, given a choice between a doc who graduated 1st at Harvard but has never performed my particular operation & one who attended Wayne State but has successfully performed this specific procedure before, I'll take the latter. 4/

I don't care if his cabinet went to Harvard or State U, as long as they're COMPETENT at their jobs and CARE about making people's lives better. On *those* fronts, they seem pretty "elite", and that's a *good* thing.

If they also went to a great school, so much the better.
/end

P.S. I kind of lost my own thread a bit, so I guess another way of putting it is that there's a difference between being "elite" (the best at something) and being "elitist" (ASSUMING you're the best and looking down on others).

Trump's entire cabinet is filled with the latter.

P.P.S. Re. the point about my own lack of formal expertise in healthcare policy: You know *how* I gained a reputation for having a clue about the subject? BECAUSE I LISTENED TO *ACTUAL* EXPERTS IN THE FIELD. Folks like @bjdickmayhew, @LouiseNorris, @larry_levitt, etc.

Anyway, I think the best situation is probably a mix of “Ivy League” types AND “State U” types to provide a range of perspectives...as long as they’re QUALIFIED, COMPETENT and CARE about doing a good job. Most of Trumps minions are none of these regardless of their background.

Speaking of which...

https://twitter.com/PostOpinions/status/1331461130380861441