Senator Obama recently made the unremarkable observation that downscale working class voters are "bitter." People are losing their jobs, health benefits, pensions and homes so how could they not be bitter? Senator John McCain and his pseudo running mate, Senator Hillary Clinton have accused Obama of elitism for making this observation. Refer to the YouTube player below for Obama's response.
Enough said.
1 comment:
I don't think the main problem is that he called working-class folks "bitter"--I think the problem has more to do with the elitist attitude of his entire commentary, especially his condescending reference to such folks "clinging to religion and guns" (!) By the way, he also mentioned something about their opposition to "free trade," as if that were merely some kind of knee-jerk response of people who are economically embittered. And, to top it all off, the setting for all this was a fundraiser with wealthy donors in California. Granted, none of this was meant for wider public consumption (and thus, perhaps, all the more damning in many people's eyes), but it does worry me that Obama may hurt himself in the general election with too many ill-advised comments that will come off as elitist. The Clintons don't seem to have as much of a problem with this, despite (as you point out) their own elite ties and associations. It does worry me. And it also worries me that so many Obama supporters in the blogosphere don't seem to get it. Not so much you, ILJ, but others certainly seem bound and determined to compound the elitist fallout for Obama by reiterating its "truth" as if this were an issue of academic argumentation rather than tone and political style. Sigh. The tone deafness of the progressive blogosphere towards class is truly disheartening. But thanks for directing our attention where it should be: towards the elite connection shared by all the major candidates.
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