What’s an Elitist
Despite her every effort, Hilary Clinton’s lead in Pennsylvania seems to be diminishing. Some would say this is a consequence of her, “you can beat a dead horse” campaign style. I would say, they never to know when to quit - not the race but the rhetoric. The desperation, on the part of her campaign, is such that when they finally find something they think resonates with the public, they can’t let it go. Further, and in case they didn’t know it, you can’t be worth 100 million dollars, throw back a few shots, say your dad took you hunting (especially when you have been a staunch gun control advocate), and expect to be perceived as authentic.
Hillary did grow up in a middle class family. But just like Barack, she went to an Ivy League school, became a lawyer, worked to make positive change and then became the First Lady of Arkansas. As far as I know, Barack didn’t become the First Lady, but that was biological. And although their lives were not that similar, their career paths weren’t much different. He grew up in a multiracial family, his mother was a single parent and he met his father once. He probably didn’t do much shooting with the guy. He, like Hillary, was a product of the public school system. Michelle Obama went on to say it best in response to the “elitist” accusations, “I am an example of what the investment in public education can do.” On Colbert, when he asked her to tell him about growing up an elitist on the South Side of Chicago with silver spoons in her mouth she said, “I had four spoons in my mouth, and when my father got a raise and I got five spoons.” Growing up the way both the Democratic candidates did, and living the lives they all chose to live, does not a good elitist make.
If you are going to define an elitist you need to look no further then the White House. George Bush and Dick Cheney are true elitists. George grew up that way, and never changed. Cheney grew into it sometime between the Ford White House and the Halliburton job as CEO. An elitist is someone who thinks they are better than everyone beneath them. And how do I think they define beneath? Simple, it is someone who doesn’t have the money, family connections, religious affiliation, or education that they think is necessary to maintain an exalted position of power in their society. Now this can get a little confusing. In Medieval days you would have called them serfs. The Cheney/Bush’s and friends would have been the landed gentry. The people who owned land, and in fact owned the serfs, felt that they were far superior to the menial laborers who did all the work and made the country run. The people with land were educated, powerful and dressed nicely. If I was explaining it today, which I guess I am, I would say the elitist is the person who can afford to put gas in a humvee, never worries about food costs, and is never concerned about losing their homes. What makes them an elitist, however is that all the terrible conditions people are suffering, means nothing to them. They are untouched by the problems of the great unwashed. They may pretend to care when it’s politically advantageous, but they go back to their subtly restricted country clubs, have a drink, and talk about how the greens need to be repaired and how we are winning the war in Iraq.
What the campaigns don’t understand is that people are tired of the noise. Howard Wolfson, the Hillary mouthpiece-and I don’t mean that in the kindest way possible - is proud of the fact that the name calling seems to be resonating with the public in Pennsylvania. According to my anecdotal poll taken yesterday at a flea market called Cow Town in Penns Grove, New Jersey — which is adjacent to Pa, (most of the people with whom I spoke came from Pa), they are no longer listening to the noise. They want to hear about things that have impact on their lives. This is not happening. Pennsylvania is not a cross over state. You can only vote for the candidate in whatever party you are registered. But Republicans are registering as Democrats in order to vote. Most are voting for the candidate they think can be easily defeated by McCain. But some are voting for the Democrat they like. These are middle class folks who think Hillary has over played her hand. They think that while Obama may have misspoken and used the wrong words– like cling and bitter, Hillary outright lied. They think her attacks on Obama have been orchestrated (my word not theirs) to change the subject on what she did on the tarmac in Tuzla. Who knows. But the campaign noise is deafening and unfortunately it has nothing to do with the issues.
Many people are asking how and if the Democrats can survive what they consider the mean spirited petty bickering. Having been in many Presidential primary seasons that lasted until June, I’m not that concerned. There is a way to heal the Party but it has to happen before the Convention-whether there are two candidates or one. My idea would be to convene a bi-candidate issues oriented press conference. Where both Obama and Clinton supporters (issues experts as well as political people) come together and make it clear that no matter who emerges victorious in the Convention, the party is committed to being united behind one candidate. Further, that the Republicans cannot count on a fractionalized Democratic party because it is not going to happen.
Maybe I’m delusional or I’ve gotten that “hopeful” bug from Obama. But I believe that the state of the nation is such that anyone who wants to be the Commander in Chief, needs to look at what works for the greater good. They both need to put on their big girl panties, think about what they say and consequently, what the public hears, remember who their real opponent is, and most important — get beyond the silly noise.
