Liberals have a hard time in realville and don't take opposing opinions kindly

Daniel Greenfield’s wonderful takedown of liberal ‘manufactured intelligence’

Perhaps the question has entered your mind. It’s entered mine many times: “Who are these people who think Thomas Friedman is smart?”

Not to specifically pick on Thomas Friedman (not that this wouldn’t be richly deserved), but the question really has to do with a whole culture of generally left-wing people who gravitate around ideas, events and notions that can be shown to be quite empty when you really examine them. But they don’t really examine them. They just gravitate and congratulate themselves and each other on how smart they are for being associated with them.
It’s the appearance of intelligence without the substance to make it real. Now blogger Daniel Greenfield has offered the quintessential description of it, along with a dead-on label - manufactured intelligence. So if you’ve ever wondered how these people can sit around and spew this nonsense and actually see themselves as smart for thinking it, Greenfield explains:

Manufactured intelligence is the smarmy quality that oozes out of a New York Times column by Thomas Friedman, Maureen Dowd, Frank Bruni and the rest of the gang who tell you nothing meaningful while dazzling you with references to international locations, political events and pop culture, tying together absurdities into one synergistic web of nonsense that feels meaningful.

There’s a reason that there’s a Tom Friedman article generator online. But it could just as easily be a New York Times article generator that sums up the hollowness of the buzzword-fed crowd that is always hungry to reaffirm the illusion of its own intelligence.
We all know that George W. Bush was a moron. And we all know that Obama is a genius. We have been told by Valerie Jarrett, by his media lapdogs and even by the great man himself that he is just too smart to do his job. And it’s reasonable that a genius would be bored by the tedious tasks involved in running the most powerful nation on earth.
But what is “smart” anyway? What makes Obama a genius? It’s not his IQ. It’s probably not his grades or we would have seen them already. It’s that like so many of the thought leaders and TED talkers, he makes his supporters feel smart. The perception of intelligence is really a reflection.

Greenfield’s piece is long, and worth the read, especially in his takedown of the TED talk culture. If you’ve never had the pleasure, these events are highly celebrated but in fact are little more than one elitist getting his or her 18 minutes (that’s a TED talk rule) in the spotlight while other elitists tell themselves how enlightened they are for being there to hear it.
Take a look at the organization’s own case for why it is not elitist. Classic:

How do you decide who gets admitted to the live TED events?
Our goal is a diverse community of amazing people from numerous fields. We also try to maintain a balance between longstanding TEDsters and invaluable newcomers. We are admitting around 1,500 people to TED, and a year ahead of each conference there is already demand from far more people than will fit. We give preference to people who:

• are curious, passionate and open-minded
• have done something fascinating with their lives
• show evidence of creativity, innovation, insight or brilliance
• would be wonderful to sit next to at lunch and have a conversation with
• are well placed to help make a difference in the world
• have made a contribution to the TED community already

Translation:
You get to attend when you’re part of the elite crowd as defined by them. It’s not that different from trying to get into a fraternity or sorority, except that the kegger only lasts 18 minutes. The pretentiousness is pretty much the same.
Why does any of this matter? Because it explains how people are capable of believing nonsense that simple facts demonstrate to be nonsense. Liberal policies have failed to solve poverty, failed to generate economic growth, failed to make us energy-independent and are now in the process of making a total fiasco of health care. Look at the real-world results and you can come to no other conclusion.
So don’t look at the real-world results. Go to Davos and rub elbows with Thomas Friedman and Fareed Zakaria. Attend a TED talk if you are chosen worthy. Hang around with the really smart people who understand how the world really works, and ignore what you see out there. The great unwashed are not picking at salmon and filing columns from high-rise hotels in Shanghai, so what do they know?
This is how it becomes possible to believe what is patently absurd. You hole yourself up in a world where everyone else believes it to, and where everyone congratulates each other for believing it. You’re not smart. But you feel smart. Of course, that’s not the Holiday Inn Express you’re staying in. You’re so much better than that!