Wow! comparing Palin to Chester Allen Arthur, BURN!
While I don't know how Obama would come out ("qualified" or "unqualified") in a Lessig-style analysis (which is, more or less, just a rhetorical style), this talk shows some pitfalls of one-to-one comparison. One pitfall being that Lessig's Power Point format (something he's carried over from his Free Culture lectures) glosses over what one DID as Senator, Mayor, Secretary of War, etc. These are titles (just like Major, Congressperson, VP) but the eras and jobs have changed.
Also, in saying that Palin is "qualified" or "unqualified," Lessig (slyly, but brilliantly) does what he seems to rail against: classifying a political figure into a pass/no-pass binary through a series of soundbites.
While I don't know how Obama would come out ("qualified" or "unqualified") in a Lessig-style analysis (which is, more or less, just a rhetorical style), this talk shows some pitfalls of one-to-one comparison. One pitfall being that Lessig's Power Point format (something he's carried over from his Free Culture lectures) glosses over what one DID as Senator, Mayor, Secretary of War, etc. These are titles (just like Major, Congressperson, VP) but the eras and jobs have changed.
Also, in saying that Palin is "qualified" or "unqualified," Lessig (slyly, but brilliantly) does what he seems to rail against: classifying a political figure into a pass/no-pass binary through a series of soundbites.