This group is never out of power. Arm chair generals, admirals, and economists are like the poor. They are always with us.

I've had a few excellent professors in my time who have expanded my knowledge of things without trying to cram ideology down my throat. For each one of them I've had one of the other guys who can't wait to brainwash a class into thinking like them rather than expanding their horizons. All in all I wouldn't toss it all under the bus, but would advise people to keep your mind Jedi strong so you don't fall for any of the bullshit surrounding this group.

A mixed bag. There are a lot of good teachers and professors out there. These people are helpful to their students, the institutions they work for, and their community at large.
That said, from K-5 all the way to the university level academia in the US has been hijacked by the pseudo-intellectual left. The arrogance of these people is laughable, as they lend credence to the old adage "if you can't do...teach". The saddest and most frightening thing is that these people are indoctrinating our young people. This is one front where, at least for now, the left has won.

One of the few groups where it is quite acceptable to bash publicly.  Funny how respect for academics plummet along with the literacy rates and respect for science, study, and philosophy.  Not that academics get carte-blanche nor are they always correct, but it's disgusting that academics have to defend against both lies and opinions of (quite frankly) less intelligent or scholarly types who simply lack the experience or subject knowlege to have a researched thesis worth a damn.  Convenient boogey-men and scapegoats used by those who base their philosophies on fear and ignorance.

Knowlege of what is going on and the desire to attain more knowledge, is extremely important when being involved in politics.

The ones that I encountered during my education were by and large liberals. The academic ethic tends to favor those who lean left. I did have a few conservative professors and a couple of straight out Marxists as well! The majority however were standard liberal Democrats.

Another mixed bag.

There are thoughtful, articulate academics who measure their words and writings carefully, be they of the right or left.

There are others who have about as much political acumen as Tom Cruise.

Like many of these groups, you have to pick and choose with care. And like the "Big Business" group they are by no means a unified front.

What I utterly reject, however, is the proud anti-intellectual, anti-academic viewpoint of some politicians.