To be clear, I am using aristocracy in the American sense, meaning famous enough or rich enough to be on television an inordinate amount of time. Of course being on television all of the time is more than enough qualification to lift one into the stratosphere of American influence.

I don’t believe I would go so far as to say that America’s well known were always among the best and brightest.  However, when it came to drawing attention to remarks pertaining to affairs of state those presumed qualified to garner attention in the past generally were not conspicuously absent both brains and character.

In fact, it should be stipulated that anyone whose principal occupation is to entertain is assessed only on the basis of standards for entertainment celebrities, which have been adjusted to account for natural limitations. But ruminating about matters of economic policy or presidential timbre was not always open to the general run of famous people, at least not enough to render their pronouncements worthy of more than minimal notice. Elitist? Yes. But not all forms of elitism are bad. Is it ultimately not a gesture of respect for the intelligence of the American public when those allowed to dominate important public discourse are minimally qualified to do so? You’d think more persons in positions of authority in media would believe Americans were entitled to as much…whether they really are or not.

And true, there now are so many outlets and so much on-air time to fill that the democracy movement in public pontification was destined to be triumphant. But even if all judgments in that regard are entirely bottom line, I am unconvinced Americans have a scrap of interest in hearing what Donald Trump has to say about anything other than alimony.

I do believe this is the moment to announce that the Kardashians deserve a special mention for at least retaining a level of self-awareness, or a kind of blessed vapidity that prevents them from attempting to address anything of any importance. I suppose one could say that Bachman and Palin qualify by having been elected to office, though it must also be stated that accidents happen. Must they stand perpetually uncorrected?

Trump hasn’t met even the lowly threshold of election to public office by a skimpy populace. I’m not aware of any qualifications in the possession of Donald Trump, and there are no visible accomplishments that redound to him as credible proof of intelligence, capability, mental stability, knowledge or decent character. All signs point in the opposite direction. In fact, it should be commonly accepted that if one’s resume includes both the phrase “large inheritance” and the word “bankruptcy” one falls from the A-list of bloviators. They are baffling times indeed when being New York’s cheesiest real estate shark and one of its most detested landlords guarantees a meteoric rise to fame.

The three named in the title all arrived at their fame through various paths, but they do all share a common trait, which is that their present level of notoriety is tied directly to a penchant for ill-considered slander of the President of the United States, and manifest disrespect for the office itself. So, though each one is incredibly stupid, having proven it over and over and over again, they, like others among today’s famous in the political sphere are merely delivery systems for toxic venom, there ending any rationale for their fame.

There’s nothing new here, it’s just another American observing it all again, and still stopping to declare aloud once in a while, despite all one knows about new media, niche programming, social networking, talk TV and talk radio and countless other ascribed causes for the lowering of the common denominator that it is all so very strange and disturbing.

On the bright side, at least when James Inhofe, very likely the stupidest public official at any level of government in the history of the United States makes a statement that is noticed, it remains true that the reason for the attention begins and ends with comedic distraction.