I'm an unrepentant elitist. I must report that I even read the New York Review of Books and the London Times Literary Supplement. No kidding. I enjoy them. Not bragging, just confessing. I should have been out more playing in the fresh air when I was a kid. And most of all I deeply admire literacy and rationality in others. See, I have enough guts to start a sentence with an and? Only an elitist would do that. It's the confidence that allows us (or is it we?) elitists to toss out the rules and live by our own notion of what makes a good life or a good sentence. But what I don't have this week is patience with those who have come down hard on Barack Obama by calling him an elitist (read: snob) for making a clumsy but rational and compassionate statement about those people who cannot escape the crushing misfortune of unemployment with its debt and despair; a statement of concern for people who lack health care, and who are forced to live by the first rule of George Bush's America which states, "get rich quick or get out of sight and die quietly."
If you don't believe that small-town America is suffering from despair take a drive through some of those quaint old New England villages with their iconic white churches and their moribund Main Streets that were killed years ago by some massive Kmart mall a few miles away, a mall in which almost nothing is sold with a "made in the USA" label. It's hard to find a town without a storefront that carries the ubiquitous sign "Drug Rehab Center." It's a sign more frequently seen than "Fresh Apple Cider and Maple Syrup sold here." Small-town America is hurting. And when Obama pointed that out it was a humane judgment about the cramped and desperate lives of so many people who live far from the more prosperous cities and their opportunities. His rivals, Clinton and McCain, have tried to turn his somewhat awkward observation into a fatal political blunder. And they are doing a good job of it, word twisting is a highly competitive Olympic sport in which Republicans excel, but a gal like Hillary can easily compete. The rip snortin' gun totin', beer guzzlin' Hillary Hell Raiser, trained to shoot straight during her heroic counter-insurgency exploits in Bosnia, also knows best what the poor feel and need. Didn't she go to Wellesley College and take Miss Witherspoon's Compassion 101 course? This elitist charge about Obama has been picked up and treated with the usual intellectual shabbiness by a mainstream press, and its right wing pundits. The conservative press really wants us to believe that the world is made up of the caring rich (Bush, and McCain) and the happy poor, so that nobody does anything to alter the way things are.
John McCain -- no elitist he -- but a world class opportunist -- has picked up Hillary's song and is singing it loud for all the world to hear. He once did a lousy imitation of Barbra Streisand, but his attempt to impersonate Hillary is far better, he gets the scolding, self-congratulating tone just right. Listen to his new commercial which attacks Obama for his elitism, so filled with the glee of gotcha politics, with the bully boy chuckle scarcely concealed underneath. McCain, who succeeded in financing his ambitions by divorcing one wife and marrying upwards to his rich Cindy doesn't think that Obama has a clue about the white, rural poor. After all, how can a poor black kid ever know what poor white people feel? Hunger, fear, and desperation obviously have different DNA in black and white folks.
Yes, I've had my own problem with Obama's cool demeanor in the past but I see it now for what it is; the careful manner of a man who occasionally puts up a protective shield between himself and the world. And well he should. Let's cut to the chase, as they used to say in Hollywood. What the elite-mongers are actually doing is calling Obama an uppity ni**er and he knows it. What they are saying is "How dare this black man who was raised by a single mother on food stamps and managed to make his way through Harvard pass judgment on those poor whites who didn't have his good fortune in being born black and poor?" Why can't he be more like that decent Colin Powell who took his orders from Bush and spread his lies before the United Nations and then went home to choke on them? Or more like Condi who does a little tap dance with the truth every time she is called before Congress to testify about her egregious failures of judgment? That's the way decent black folks are supposed to behave in government these days.
If elitist means that you were against the Iraq war from the start because you were informed enough to see the horror ahead, then I am an elitist, as were so many in this country, particularly Barack Obama. For me being elitist means making intelligent judgments and rational distinctions and trying to understand the dilemma and the concerns of those who haven't gotten the breaks. Okay, I'm an elitist. But I'll sock anyone in the nose who dares to call me a snob.
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
the 'cling' comment is the key to what makes Obama the most arrogant slick politician since Bubya .... we're in big trouble with this con man
I have an issue with your first paragraph since being called Elite-ist in the recent context (for Obama) meant his comments gave the impression he was looking down on the working class people in Pennsylvania. It had noting what-so-ever to do with agreeing or not agreeing with the Iraq war! Okay?
Sherman Yellen, I did not realize that you, as well as Obama, were in the loop for intelligence reports. But I do know that neither one of you had to make decisions about nuclear or biological war being waged on our nation. Like you, and Obama, I too did not want this country to go to war with Iraq. In fact, I wrote my Congresspersons about the war in Afghanistan, believing that binLaden and the Taliban could be taken out without all out war; unfortunately, I am not in a position to make ultimate decisions for such. And neither was Congress. Congress was asked to vote yea or nay on a resolution giving the president, Bush, the ultimate sanction to use force if the Inspectors were not allowed to do their work looking for WMDs. Many did give Bush that right and he took every advantage of it by bringing the inspectors home. Then he was free to go to pre-emptive war. Calling McCain a "world class opportunist" is a misnomer McCain has served this country, and has paid for that service, and of course he's been in the Senate and run for president, 8 years ago. The world class opportunist is a black man named Barack Obama who served a few years in the Illinois Senate so that he could then go straight to the top and run for president. Black or white, no one is more opportunistic than Obama.
"This elitist charge about Obama has been picked up and treated with the usual intellectual shabbiness by a mainstream press, and its right wing pundits. The conservative press really wants us to believe that the world is made up of the caring rich (Bush, and McCain) and the happy poor, so that nobody does anything to alter the way things are."
This is just another well-worded empty remark that has no basis in fact. Obama's remarks have nothing to do with the actual state of anyone's life - his remarks were a critique of a sub-class he observes. His pronouncement that the 'reason' people 'cling' to religion, guns etc is that they are bitter. How the hell does his know that? He has no basis on which to make that observation.
People may be bitter - I've lost my job - but Obama offers no new solutions - new ad campaign but he does display a really scary out of touch ego. He presumes to know us and therefore thinks for us, but he's had all the breaks - affirmative action got him to Harvard, Alan Keyes got him into the Senate... Rev Wright taught him who the enemy was and Michelle gave him street creds... being an opportunist and real Chicago politico does not give him the right the tell people of faith that their love of god comes from a bitterness with the world. Obama really has no shame.
Nice piece ... and I agree. Calling either one of us a snob is something up with which I shall not put ....
If being an "elitist," (which was the term someone in the McCain camp used first and then it was pawned off on Hillary) means that we have the attitude and the "right" to protest in our own way to that we find uncomfortable in American society by listening and participating in a Wright environment, how can judgment then be viewed as smart? This was dumb, poor judgment and reflects one's own attitude and sentimentality. Blacks are oppressed. So? So are Chinese, Native Americans, Hispanics, people with AIDS, ugly people, fat people, short people, disabled people, uneducated people, women with lot of kids and no father, old people, dirty people, homeless people. Get it?
I am starting to think that maybe people out there get it. It's not the big things, the guys in the hooded sheets or the fire hoses and the dogs. Those are painful memories that should affect all of us deeply. But what I think about are the daily slights. Seeing my father called the N-word while he is in his Air Force uniform, a friend who had earned a Harvard doctorate clawing for tenure at Delaware, me being a child of 9 who is nearly struck by a car in front of my mother only to hear sombody say "that little N almost got hit." That Obama made something of himself should be cause to celebrate. He is one of those rags-to-riches stories -- you know, the kind we make movies about. I have been trying to avoid this, but this election may carry more weight than the anti-apartheid election in South Africa. As a Black voter I am watching how this candidate is treated. It's not about him winning or losing in a fair fight. People lose. That's life. But I want to see if my country, which has not always made me proud despite all the sacrifices I and my family have made on its behalf, will judge this man on the issues and not some other notion of how he should act. The world is wondering about us. I"m still waiting for the Civil War to end. It's time.
He was raised in Hawaii in a high rise apartment by a WHITE WOMAN VP at a local bank and went to a PRIVATE SCHOOL then Harvard. Damn right he thinks he's better than everyone else. Hell he's the golden child right? By the way who paid for all of this education? Did Barry work his way through school? Hell no he didn't he's the golden child and as such why would he be bothered to lift a finger to provide for himself. He's always had Grandma and Rezko.
I hate to think that the president of the United States is going to be chosen by the fact that they can drink a shot, bowl, or if they eat hot dogs on a regular bases. I can do all of these things and I have lived in a small town for over 18 years. I don't really care if a person thinks they are smarter than me, I really want them to be smarter than me. I want them to be the most well educated, well informed and smartest person we can find. We elected this last horrible president because so many people wanted someone just like them., someone who could "relate" to them. If that is what you want, you got that person when you got Bush. This time, I would like to get a smart, articulate person who knows and understands the world and its various cultures.
"Elitist" has to do with this: say you're a well-educated, professional urban dweller, and you're talking about a farmer in Kansas, or a shop-owner in rural Pennsylvania. Who do you think is best able to judge their interests, you or them? If they hold different views from you, do you think there must be something the matter with them?
Even in casual life situations, when someone is called "bitter," it implies that they really aren't seeing things clearly. If a view is expressed by a bitter person, we don't respect it as much as we otherwise would.
The "elitist" debate has to do with the very real fact that some citizens don't respect the values of others. ("Respect" here means the willingness to leave others alone with their own choices, not trying to force your superior views on them.) It's got nothing to do with the New York Review of Books, and suggesting it does is a distraction from a serious issue. The vast majority of Americans don't care if you read the New York Review of Books, but they DO care if you think that reading it makes your values fundamentally superior to theirs.
Stuart's "Random Thoughts" blog
When Obama mocked Clinton and called her Annie Oakley, it suggests that he thinks people who grew up with a hunting ethic are a bunch of cowboys. Not a good image for a voter who is looking for leadership When he said these "bitter" people cling to religion and guns, he was mocking their sincerety in their cultural and spiritual beliefs. His mocking tone as well as his exaggerations on what he has done, and what he promises to do, paint a distorted picture.
Obama is unsophistocated at times and I don't think I can count on his judgement. I don't know if he is an elitist, but he certainly is arrogant.
Janelynne;
I'm with you. And another thing, I am sick to death of everyone saying Obama was against the war from the beginning. He may have been but he wasn't in a position back then to vote his wishes, so he could just be making this stuff up, we have no proof!
By your definition of "elitist," then the farmer in Kansas or shop-owner in rural Pennsylvania is an "elitist" if they think they know what is best for the youth in South Chicago or the barrios of East Los Angeles. Can you honestly say the farmer or shop=owner respects the culture or values of families in these ghettos?
By your definition of "elititst," the former high school classmate who is "born again" in an evangelical church, who tells me that he knows that my Catholic faith is leading me to Hell, is an "elitist."
By your definition of "elitist," all those in the Mid-West who would cast aspersions at the tolerant people in San Francisco whose values permit immigrants, homosexuals and 60's dropouts to coexist peacefully with their families...whose values oppose an aggressive military, oppose torture, oppose warrantless searches, oppose the death penalty, favor medical marijuana, favor choice, etc......its the folks that are in the Mid-West that are elitist, right?
I guess elitism depends on which way you are peering into the looking glass.
Yes, I am bitter. Bitter because I don't have a job, bitter because I pay a ton of money for insurance. So what I do is go to church and pray things get better. Yes, I cling to religion during hard times.
Mostly, I am bitter because I don't have $109,000,000 in the bank. I am sure the Goldwater girl knows a lot about hard times.
Obama is completely right, you get bitter when the govenment doesn't give a damn about regular people.
This is Obama's most dangerous character flaw - he is an arrogant elitist...
You get bitter - but that is not the reason you attend church or hunt...unless you're doing it to express your anger ... which would be pretty crazy... the message was clear - Barack thinks you are little people with no emotional resources whose love of religion or hunting comes from a neurotic displacement ... read his quote again and focus on the word 'cling' ... these are definitions or the word from Answers.com - now are positive.
1. To hold fast or adhere to something, as by grasping, sticking, embracing, or entwining: clung to the rope to keep from falling; fabrics that cling to the body.
2. To remain close; resist separation: We clung together in the storm.
3. To remain emotionally attached; hold on: clinging to outdated customs.
But the Saviour, Barry - tells us who we are, tells us why we lead our lives as we do ... ignoring generations of Americans who have religious and recreational traditions. This is the man you want to run the country? - You all are in a dream that is fast becoming a nightmare.
I to am a elitist i live in a small town in Michigan and i'm bitter, angry ,and pissed off to. I was laid off from my manufacturing job last October, have sent out at least 40 resumes as well went to many places to put in job applictions without finding a job. My unemployment benefits have run out , i have no health insurance and i am living on my saving , all this makes me a elitist and would not of known it unless Hillary and McCain had not pointed it out to me. I just want to thank all them in WASHINGTON for doing so much for us the last few years without your ignorance and your promises to small towns all over this country theres no telling where we would be without your help. Its no wonder this country in the shapes its in when you have Hillary and McCain acting like they know whats going on in small towns when neither one has a clue.
Here's a link which a lot of you should read: http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=75&sid=45667
The blogger is Dave Ross, a progressive commentator, and his entry contains the complete context of Sen Obama's comment. In it, you'll find that the Sen was talking to organizers and he was explaining how to use talking points with voters. He made the comment (paraphrased here) that some people in rural America are bitter because the government has passed by them. He then goes on to explain the same situation occurs in urban Black neighborhoods.
Anyone who is sincerely interested in the comment really should see this.
(p. s.: Dave Ross unsuccessfully ran for the Congress for the seat Dave Reichert originally won back in 2004).
I read the entire trascript of Obama's comments. I know what he said and the context in which he said it.
I also have read several blogs and comments from Obama supporters on this site in which the bloggers and the people who commented did what you did -- rephrase his comments into a more palatable version. You say that Obama said that some people in rural America are bitter because they government has passed them by. Your statement gives a different impression of Obama's comments than one gets by reading the entire transcript. If you and other Obama supporters expect to have any credibility with those of us who thought that his comments were condescending, you have to at least acknowledge that he said what he said!
I agree 100% with your sentiments. But it is not only McCain who is an opportunist: Hillary utterly disgraced herself in my view with her attack on Obama for his "cling" remarks. Her personal ambition rules.
I wouldn"t call you a snob " just ignorant and isolated. Because you think only people like you have the judgment to oppose the war. And you don"t get that it"s a rational economic response to welcome cheap retail products available from Kmart, perhaps because you"d rather find foo-foo antiques and apple cider sold on the town squares you visit during weekend drives up into the country. And your worst mistake is making sweeping generalizations about the millions of Americans who live in places that are losing decent-paying jobs. There are so many different responses " some people go back to school when they lose their jobs, some open their own businesses, or move into the informal economy, some move altogether, and some get angry and find comfort in Lou Dobbs. But I doubt many respond by saying, "Oh, good, now I have more time for hunting and church and voting against civil rights ballot initiatives".
While I have no doubt lots of people oppose Obama"s candidacy based on his race, I am certain that if he were a white man in a suit with a Harvard vocabulary running for President and demeaning so many Americans, the response would be the same. In fact, I even bet that if he were John Kerry, for example, elitists like you would be mocking him for being a clumsy fool. But that, the prohibition against criticizing Obama, is another topic¦.
"Because you think only people like you have the judgment to oppose the war."
I hate to break it to you, but there is nothing in his article that says that whatsoever. And before I waste my fingerstrength, just go ahead and toss all of the rest of your straw man arguments onto the trashpile with that one.
I agree entirely with Yellen's assessment, and I think people like you, gingergroup, probably are not so much "ignorant and isolated" as intellectually dishonest. You must know that Barack Obama is not a snob, and you must know what he meant by his comment about poor Pennsylvanians being "bitter." But it suits you to pretend that you do not, as you promote your political agenda by sophistry and assumed obtuseness. Shame on you gingergroup!
Elitist is equally black and white/right and wrong with no shades of gray as any redneck. It is the polar opposite of those who judge individuals by their color or social standing by judging others by their intellect. And it is not just their IQ or their level of education. It is that they intellectually understand the world in the way that the elitist does. Obama's explanation of why small town Pennsylvanians "cling to guns and religion" is so condescending and presumptuous. He doesn't even consider that these "folks" might have progressive ideas about the economy but conservative social ideas. And all of you who jump on the bandwagon that has to explain Obama's explanation are the worst example of elitist. You believe that those who do not agree with Obama have something wrong with them and that all you have to do is reframe everything his says so that we can understand how he is really right. No matter how you frame this, Obama's statement remains elitist and out of touch.
You completely failed to understand the statement Obama made. The statement was QUALIFIED by the explanation that this was a reference to SOME people. Why would Barack Obama, a religious man, disparage other people for being religious? Why would he condescend to them as if he were Christopher Hitchens or Richard Dawkins? The answer is, he didn't. He was talking about SOME people. Can you honestly say that there aren't many people out there whose political and social views aren't in some way made more angered and reactionary by a cynical view of their government spawned by the failure of government to help keep them employed? No, you can't. What you have chosen to hear him say was "Everyone who goes to church and owns and gun and is anti-immigration is only doing it because they're unemployed." That's how you, Hillary, McCain, and loads of other people are hearing. But that is NOT what he said.
I assume you don't agree with Bill Clinton's similar remarks in years past? Or are you reframing his comments so we can understand how he was really right?
"Unrepentant elitists" of the world unite! We should at least form an "Elitist Defense League" (EDL) to protect the freedom of thought and to promote "intelligent judgments and rational distinctions." Naturally, that would make us a threat to the American way of life. But hey, the despotism of ignorance is not among the "blessings" the elitists who invented America had in mind.
The liklihood of elitists accomplishing anything goood is quite remote. Elitism ,in practice, means to take from the producer by taxes and to give to the non-producer. The Elitist seems to be a dedicated follower of Marx who said," From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Sounds wonderful until enough people realise that " Hey, why should I be pushing this wagon? I'll ride. There are enough others to do the pushing." Pretty soon the wagon coasts to a stop because there are not enough people left to do the pushing.
Who would dare trust Elitists to protect freedom? Recently colleges, who claim to be bulwarks of academic freedom, refuse to let anyone speak who has a viewpoint different from theirs. This is not freedom, this is tyranny. Elitists are so self-deceived that they think tyranny is freedom and freedom id tyranny. Another page right out of George Orwell's 1984.
Wow so that Economics 101 class really paid off, didn't it?
Loading comments…
Posted April 15, 2008 | 05:16 PM (EST)