I agree that the article is not implying a preference for "rule by elites", especially in light of this statement:

  And if you harbor the notion...that the solution is more education
  and a higher level of political sophistication in voters overall,
  well, that’s a start, but not the solution. A 2006 study...showed
  that politically sophisticated thinkers were even less open to new
  information than less sophisticated types. These people may be factually
  right about 90 percent of things, but their confidence makes it nearly
  impossible to correct the 10 percent on which they’re totally wrong.