For four days now Barack Obama has stood all but alone, valiantly defending himself against charges of elitism from multi-millionaires Bill and Hillary Clinton and dozens of their surrogates, untold numbers of Republicans, and the bulk of the media.
Where has the leadership of the Democratic Party been during these relentless attempts to slander and destroy the electability of their likely presidential nominee? About the only Democrat to publicly step forward to defend Obama is Bob Casey. Where is Nancy Pelosi? Where is John Edwards? Where is Al Gore? Where is Ted Kennedy? Where is Howard Dean, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, John Kerry, Rahm Emanuel, Jim Webb, Chuck Schumer, Wesley Clark, and untold others.
It's not a matter of whether a Democratic leader has endorsed Obama, Clinton, or is still officially neutral. The son of an absent father and a single mother -- a man who, despite massive student loans, graduated from one Ivy League college to take a job for $8,000 a year helping unemployed steelworkers in Chicago; who chose to go from Harvard Law Review, not to a Wall Street law firm where he could soon earn millions advising corporation on how to offshore jobs and avoid taxes, but to a small civil rights firm in Chicago; who has devoted his entire adult life to helping the underdog -- stands accused by the wealthy and powerful of elitism while leading Democrats stand silently by.
Democratic "leaders": If you want to save the party, now is the time you must stand up and tell the truth. You can support Obama for the nomination, support Hillary, or remain neutral, but you must defend Obama from the slings and arrows of these outrageous charges. John Edwards can continue to maintain his neutrality as to an endorsement but he must say that he knows Barack Obama and Barack is a man who stands with John Edwards in fighting for the rights of the middle class and poor. Same for Al Gore. Even Clinton supporters like Chuck Schumer, Wesley Clark and Ed Rendel must stand up and say that they may back Clinton as their first choice for the nomination, but Barack Obama is no out of touch elitist. Stand up and speak to the media one by one. Better yet, hold a mass press conference with dozens of leading Democrats, regardless of which candidate they may endorse.
If Democratic leaders fail to come to the defense of one of their own, one of their best and brightest whether they support his nomination or not, then the Party will be torn apart and there may be little left of the Democratic Party to defend. We can all look forward to four or eight more years of McSame.