Thursday, August 21, 2008

Is McCain An Elitist?

A number of lefty bloggers, some of whom are friends, all of whom I respect, have all put up the Obama commercial "Seven." Some of them, like Zach at Blogging Blue, Deke at Caffeinated Politics, and Dan Cody at Left on the Lake (in the comment thread), have used this as proof McCain is an elitist.

The New York Times is reporting that the AFL-CIO and SEIU have produced their own video contrasting McCain to a couple who both work two jobs, yet had their home go into foreclosure, just so that they could keep food on the table. According to the article, they were trying to show McCain as an elitist:




American Heritage Dictionary defines elitism as being:

1 The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.

2a The sense of entitlement enjoyed by such a group or class.
b Control, rule, or domination by such a group or class.
I don't know if I absolutely agree with calling McCain an elitist. Granted, I don't think any of us have a problem knowing how many houses we own, but just because McCain is incapable of knowing the answer doesn't necessarily mean he is an elitist.

In fact, I've had the pleasure of meeting the wildlife photographer Merl Deusing when he still lived in the Milwaukee area. I was able to go to his house. For the times (mid-70's), he would have been considered well off. But both he and his wife were wonderful people that didn't have an elitist bone between them.

I can think of a few other people who are well off, but not elitist as well.

Just because John McCain married a millionairess, and just because they own more homes than he can remember, and just because their annual payroll for their servants is greater than the worth of most homes, doesn't mean he's an elitist.

It just means he is completely out of touch with the reality that we live and work in every day. And why he would want to continue with Bush's failed economic policies. He just doesn't have a clue.

2 comments:

  1. Yeah, elitist may not be the best term for McCain, but there's no denying he's out of touch with the reality most of the rest of us live in.

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  2. I wasn't saying McCain is actually an Elitists or isn't. Really just that for his campaign to attempt to paint Obama as an Elitist while he can't remember how many homes he has is well questionable and should really put an end to that discussion.

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