Why are so many Americans so content to have incompetent people in power?
There are significant numbers of people who like to believe they are smarter, more ethical, and overall superior to their leaders.
Ahem. It's not like they have a monopoly on it.
I never said the phenomenon is unique to the USA; in fact I've seen it in action elsewhere. Tragically, it's most likely a global human thing born out of the self-esteem movement.
People like to believe they're equal to, or perhaps superior to, other human beings who happen to be authority figures. The rationale is that there are plenty of different areas of expertise and eminence or authority in one domain doesn't necessarily imply status in another: wise legislators therefore rely on input from experts in science, economics, medicine, engineering, and other fields before passing laws that affect those domains. The problem arises when people with *no* particular excellence or competency in any area whatsoever get the idea that they should receive the same respect and compensation as people who have taken the time to develop knowledge and expertise. They behave as though their ignorance produces a point of view and opinion that is just as valuable as a well researched one. But at the same time they realize that they don't actually have the things that ordinarily produce credibility (such as practical experience, theoretical research credentials, badass performance skills, or anything else that make them an authority in a particular field). They do not impress anyone in their "own" field, so they seek out the society of other mediocrities, preferring them to people of excellence. Sadly, that mentality affects how they vote.
I regard it as a failure of the self-esteem movement.