"Walking in Ignorance" is the title of a new book by the American satirist Andy Borowitz. In his unique style, he explores the famous figures of both the Republican and Democratic parties to recount "how our politicians were foolish and how they have become even more foolish." For example, President Ronald Reagan didn’t understand how budgets were made or how laws passed in Congress. "He believed that South America was a single country." Presidential candidate Sarah Palin thought that Queen Elizabeth was the leader of the British Army and did not know the difference between England and the United Kingdom, nor why North Korea separated from South Korea. Furthermore, she believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the September 11 attacks and did not know the difference between state and federal government powers. She had also never heard of Margaret Thatcher. Other politician Marjorie Taylor Greene believed that aliens were starting fires in California using lasers.
The least fond of reading is Donald Trump. Borowitz quotes his chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, stating, "Trump refuses to read anything. Any page. Any memo of a few lines, he quickly gets bored and leaves meetings with world leaders in the middle." He also found reading history or geography tiresome, believing that Finland was part of Russia and that Belgium was a city.
Some politicians, according to Borowitz, prefer to project an image of simplicity and naivety because American voters do not like overly sophisticated politicians. Ronald Reagan was particularly adept at playing this tune, sometimes pretending to be ignorant and naive about issues he actually knew something about. This amused the media and reassured voters of the president's kind heart and closeness to the people. He occasionally mixed up names and titles intentionally, not to mention his stumbling speech, leading some to imitate his mannerisms.
George W. Bush similarly claimed around two trillion dollars in the search for non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Borowitz questions the competence of politicians in both parties, providing examples of past presidents like Warren Harding, who declared, "I am not worthy of this position, and I should never have held this chair at all."
