The Elitist and The Idealist
“And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or antitrade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
-Barack Obama, about people in small Pennsylvania towns.
Is this going to be the driving force of this election, the focal talking point? Will we think of Obama, the Ivy League graduate, as the elitist, like Kerry, the flip-flopper? Is Obama, the Ivy League graduate, the steel worker organizer, an intellectual elitist with pretentious San Franciscan comments out of touch with America?
I think we might. I think what we see here is a turning point in his candidacy. If he didn't lose votes, then he certainly lost himself the clout of indefeatability. I can easily vision a negative ad with this quote followed by his wife saying that she did not believe in America until Barack chose to run. But this isn't just about the fallout, but about his comments themselves. In a very real way, he and his comments are out of touch, but not in the way he will likely be cast.
His comments show not only elitism, but a idealistic intellectualism. He attempts to play the sociologist and historian, explaining racist anger as a response to America's original sin of slavery, and now explaining religion and values as responsive to political policies. While his comments would be appreciated in the lecture halls, they will certainly not be welcome in the homes of America. Nobody wants to hear their dearest beliefs insulted in that way. Nobody wants to hear that their very lifestyle is not the outcome of family traditions, but instead a reactionary response to poor policies. Furthermore, we should be reminded that we have elected more generals than scholars, and our greatest presidents were not evaluated for their theses, but for their policies and leadership capabilities.
The validity of his comments are not up for debate. But that is in itself an unfortunate condition of our country. Frankly, it should be up for discussion. We should be talking about what his comments lead us to think rather than what they make us feel. But we do live in an era in which the meaning of words are not appreciated, but the emotions behind them are. Over my entire lifetime, our presidents have either sidestepped issues with "I have lit up, but never inhaled," or simply attempted to overthrow issues with emotional appeals to so-called "values".
Even so, his comments are still radical. They are still pretentious. They are still elitist. But they are more. They are challenging. They are true. And they are overdue.
-Barack Obama, about people in small Pennsylvania towns.
Is this going to be the driving force of this election, the focal talking point? Will we think of Obama, the Ivy League graduate, as the elitist, like Kerry, the flip-flopper? Is Obama, the Ivy League graduate, the steel worker organizer, an intellectual elitist with pretentious San Franciscan comments out of touch with America?
I think we might. I think what we see here is a turning point in his candidacy. If he didn't lose votes, then he certainly lost himself the clout of indefeatability. I can easily vision a negative ad with this quote followed by his wife saying that she did not believe in America until Barack chose to run. But this isn't just about the fallout, but about his comments themselves. In a very real way, he and his comments are out of touch, but not in the way he will likely be cast.
His comments show not only elitism, but a idealistic intellectualism. He attempts to play the sociologist and historian, explaining racist anger as a response to America's original sin of slavery, and now explaining religion and values as responsive to political policies. While his comments would be appreciated in the lecture halls, they will certainly not be welcome in the homes of America. Nobody wants to hear their dearest beliefs insulted in that way. Nobody wants to hear that their very lifestyle is not the outcome of family traditions, but instead a reactionary response to poor policies. Furthermore, we should be reminded that we have elected more generals than scholars, and our greatest presidents were not evaluated for their theses, but for their policies and leadership capabilities.
The validity of his comments are not up for debate. But that is in itself an unfortunate condition of our country. Frankly, it should be up for discussion. We should be talking about what his comments lead us to think rather than what they make us feel. But we do live in an era in which the meaning of words are not appreciated, but the emotions behind them are. Over my entire lifetime, our presidents have either sidestepped issues with "I have lit up, but never inhaled," or simply attempted to overthrow issues with emotional appeals to so-called "values".
Even so, his comments are still radical. They are still pretentious. They are still elitist. But they are more. They are challenging. They are true. And they are overdue.
posted by George at 8:45 PM
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