Historian sarah Vowell has earned a following with her particular blend of irreverence and patriotism. In her new book, "The Wordy Shipmates," she profiles the Puritans who fought America's original battle between church and state. She spoke with newsweek's Jesse Ellison.Revisiting the roots of American exceptionalism is always a good idea. And in terms of choosing one's leaders, which we're about to do, the thing I love about the Puritans is the people they put on a pedestal were the best educated, the smartest, the ones they saw as the most good with a capital G. I guess I would like to make a case for that. I don't think a leader should be penalized because he or she knows stuff.
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