"The Best and the Brightest"

Governor Christie committed a verbal irony that's quite common, but still worthy of note. In calling for a new system for hiring school superintendents he stated that the new system would allow the hiring of "the best and brightest." This phrase has of course entered the popular lexicon via David Halberstam's book on the Vietnam War. Of course, Halberstam meant the term to be ironic; a bitter comment on how individuals and groups possessing the most impressive of credentials can still exhibit no real understanding of a situation and make horrific and disastrous decisions as a result.