If Miss South Carolina resided in my house, I would take her electronics away from her, tell her that she spends too much time trying to look pretty, and too little time studying and preparing to be a productive friend, family member and citizen.
So, when Miss South Carolina's publicist booked her on the Today Show one would have expected some type of chastisement at the hands of Matt Lauer. But Matt Lauer is an idiot himself. Touted as a "news person" he is really a "news personality". No longer can we expect the William Shirer/Edward Murrow/Walter Cronkite news person. We are left with Matt Lauer and his types, both conservative and liberal, who elevate the celebrity to something newsworthy. Thus, it comes as no surprise that he actually sympathetically laments for Miss South Carolina. Note in the following "news" interview how he hardly lets Miss South Carolina answer. Knowing a kindred spirit, he answers the questions for her. Thus, stupidity is elevated to a sympathetic condition rather than misplaced values or laziness. Watch:
Our Fourth Estate has gone from William Shrier/Ed Morrow/Walter Cronkite to Katie Couric/Matt Lauer and you name him or her. Shrier would have laughed at her, Morrow would have lectured her and Cronkite would not have wasted his time.