The latest sign of America's decline

Word has just reached me that John McCain's icon of ordinary Americanness, Joe the Plumber, has gotten a gig reporting on the Middle East conflict for some right-wing website. The idea is to provide reportage and commentary on the Gaza conflict from an "average Joe."

I wonder by what stretch of the imagination any media outlet in America requires the "commentary" of someone who knows no middle eastern languages, has taken no courses in Middle East history and probably can't even locate the countries in question on a map? Try as I might, I just can't understand this new addition to our internet information empire--it must be more evidence that the less you know, the more desirable you are(see: the Sarah Palin phenomenon).

What is happening to this country?