Conversations on American Elitism

Here's what Barack Obama said when he was on the Left Coast: "But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. 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 anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations. "

Karl Rove thinks this is a Marxian statement [h/t to Think Progress]. Whatever that statement was, it wasn't Neo-Con-ian. Thank God.

I rather agree with Fred Newman on Talk/Talk: "I don't really know how the remark plays to the people who Hillary has now appointed herself the defender of. So, she wants to get some mileage out of it. This gives her the freedom to get into personalistic accusations about Obama and his past. And that's what's so sick about politics. It's a very dangerous business to put yourself out as a spokesperson for millions of Americans who hold very complex and varied views on values, on religion and on guns."

Andrew Sullivan was horrified by Hillary's follow-up ad: "Without batting an eyelid, Clinton effortlessly adopts the entire worldview of the most cynical of Republican operatives and applies it with the delicacy of a shovel to the likely Democratic party nominee. This is a) how desperate she must know feel; b) how utterly irrelevant it is to her what happens in this election unless she is the next Democratic nominee for president. "

And from The Daily Doubter: "I must cut Sean Hannity some slack, however. Hannity isn't an amoral Machiavellian such as Karl Rove who is perfectly happy to use religion and the evangelical leaders he reportedly called "the nuts" as a political tool. No, Hannity is just a witless authoritarian follower and partisan hack who attacks which ever Democrat is on the sheet of paper he's gotten from his producers; Hannity also has an ability which is key to his success as a Fox News pundit and radio personality - he has an unlimited capacity for self-blindness, double standard, and hypocrisy." [Hey Daily Doubter -- tell us what you REALLY think! ;-)]

With all due respect to Michelle "Them's Fightin' Words!" Obama (And if you're smart, you don't want to fight nobody who grew up on the Southside of Chicago..... see the YouTube video here from Keith Olbermann's show), elitism isn't a factor of where you come from. Many working class people who have "made it" are elitist. That's what most major institutions -- universities, political parties, etc. -- cultivate. For my money, elitism is a political issue. When Geo. Washington declined the crown, he made a statement on behalf of American Democracy. That's the politics we need to be cultivating. And that's the politics of inclusion. --NH

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• New N.H. residents tend to be Dems or independents (Boston Globe)

• Don't mistake Lieberman for a Democrat (LETTER to Roanoke Times)



• THE END GAME: Clinton Hits Rough Patch As Iowa Showdown Nears; Rivals Strike From Left As She Courts Center (Wall Street Journal)



• Michelle Obama says Barack is best hope for blacks (Lexington Herald News)



• Ron Paul could remake the Repub Party for the future by running as a third-party candidate (Southern Political Report)



• Bloomberg Crams On Foreign Policy: Proof That He's Planning '08 Bid? (Huffington Post)



• Michigan primary voters must declare party (Grand Rapids Press)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• The failure of the Clinton administration and the Democratic Congress to pass a major health care bill in the early 1990s left politicians on both sides wary of the issue. (Washington Post)
• The New York candidates -The name of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg keeps showing up as a possible independent candidate. (Chicago Tribune)
• How would an endorsement from Gov. Schwarzenegger affect '08 race? (Sac Bee)
• MRS. OBAMA TO CO-HOST 'THE VIEW' (NY Post)
• BlackAmericaWeb.com Launches Survey to Gauge Views on Issues in ’08 Presidential Race (BlackAmericaWeb.com)
• Obama: Don't 'swift boat' me (By: Mike Allen and Ben Smith, Politico)
• North Carolina: Instant runoff proves a good idea (Blue Ridge Times News) and Exit poll: Hendersonville voters understood ballot (Ashville Citizen Times)
• Illinois: Green Party spreads wings (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH)
• ELIZABETH KUCINICH: Essex girl on the road to the White House - Elizabeth Harper was an idealistic, tongue-pierced 27-year-old when she moved to the US in 2005. Now married to a top Democrat politician, she aims to become First Lady. (The Independent - UK)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Editorial: Dems have momentum now, but Ohio's presidential outlook is far from decided-independents key (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• N.H. poll: GOP primary stirring independents (Boston Globe)
• Our Precious Liberties, Endangered - Dems should not count on independents (New York Times LETTER)
• Presidential candidate Ron Paul hauls in more than $3.5 million from the web (Midland Reporter-Telegram)
• Michelle Obama issues call to black America (New York Daily News)
• Battle for black voters - Michelle Obama says they will 'wake up and get it' (Chicago Sun Times)
• Kentucky: Doctor from Prospect to seek McConnell's seat in U.S. Senate - Michael Cassaro to run as independent (The Courier-Journal)
• Ohio: In Lorain, six-term Councilman David Wargo, D-1st Ward, lost to independent candidate Melanie Szabo by a vote of 670 to 581. (The Chronicle-Telegram)

TODAY'S NEWS HEADLINES for INDEPENDENT VOTERS

• Clinton, Giuliani Behave Like It's Already Fall '08--can you take a year of this? (RealClearPolitics)
• New Hampshire/Michigan: It's not a 2007 primary yet (Concord Monitor)
• New Hampshire candidate forum on global warming sparsely attended (Concord Monitor)
• Michelle Obama in Iowa (The Trail, Washington Post)
• Alabama: Redistricting fight is likely coming up (Thomasville Times)
• Ohio: Attorney files suit in ballot exclusion-Longtime Republican says she is independent (Akron Beacon Journal)
• New Jersey: Libertarian candidates qualify for public funding-Campaign manager for D-14 Assembly hopefuls says they're 'in it to win' (East Brunswick Sentinel)
• Minnesota: World has changed -- so why not change how we pick a president? (Rochester Post Bulletin)