Obama says his supporters can see Russia from their houses

In 2008, Governor Sarah Palin said that Alaska's proximity to Russia gave her special insight into America's relationship with Russia.

The Credentialed Left reflexively rejects the opinions of anyone who lacks an approved academic pedigree, and they roundly mocked Governor Palin for suggesting that proximity leads to insight. On Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey summarized Governor Palin's comment as "I can see Russia from my house," to approving titters.

If you laugh at the same people the smart people are laughing at, you become one of the smart people. It's an exercise in group identification, masquerading as humor, and substituting for thought.

Well, another politician is making the proximity argument, so Tina Fey should suit up for another simplistic, mocking impersonation on Saturday Night Live. Her target this time is Barack Obama.

Barack Obama boasts that his new START arms control treaty with Russia is supported by "those who live right next door to Russia...who have the most cause for concern."

That's the same proximity argument made my Sarah Palin.

Perhaps as a consequence of the long holiday weekend, I have not heard the peals of derisive laughter emanating from Cambridge and Berkeley.

Or perhaps, now that Obama has employed it, the proximity argument is considered Received Wisdom?