I want the president to be smarter, more articulate, more virtuous, and an all around better person that I am. Does that make me an "elitist"?

Not at all. That would be like calling you an elitist because you want your plumber to be good at fixing pipes, your electrician to know how to replace a light switch, or your doctor to understand biology and medicine.

We hire contractors who hopefully have more expertise than we ourselves possess in their fields. (Although my impression has been that you hardly come up short on the smart and articulate scale.)

To the right it does.

In my opinion, that makes you an American citizen who knows enough about politics to realize that our President is the face of America to the international community.

Many people today don't follow politics closely enough, nor do they care to. Unfortunately we end up with terrible people in office because of this. This only serves to make us look worse than we really are.

Good for you for having some pride in your country.

Wolframn

Not that. A brain and something else do.

most of us want a better person than ourselves to be our leader. elitism is like pornography (according to the USSC) i'll know it when i see it. if i only want guys who will love and respect and provide stability for my daughter, does that make me an elitist? if i only hire graduates of yale, does that make me an elitist?

Makes you not very demanding perhaps.

No, especially as no-one really knows what defines an elitist.

No! Otherwise it would make many people elitists. It just makes you a common sense, and informed voter. I wish everyone thought the leader should be smarter, more articulate and a better person. I do hope you voted that way in the last national election.