Obama the elitist?
June 25th, 2008 by AriA few months ago, Maureen Dowd wrote an article where she blasted Barack Obama as an elitist. Frankly I thought the article itself smacked of more elitism than Obama himself ever displayed. She essentially used the “I’m a real American because I grew up in a house with a gun, while you went to an ivy league school” argument. Frankly I’ve never understood why some people think that this makes them “real” Americans while others are “fake” Americans. Her other lines of attack basically boiled down to the fact that Obama talked on camera about arugula, and couldn’t bowl, while Hillary drank scotch in a bar. (Seriously – is this how we pick the leader of the free world – what kind of alcohol they drink?)
I could go on tearing into this article for at least another four paragraphs but I’ll restrain myself. The sweet revenge happened yesterday when Dowd penned another column attacking Karl Rove for calling Obama elitist. (I know the party usually solidifies around it’s candidate, but this is too much). Now we all know that any politician calling another an elitist is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, but for some reason it’s actually worked. George W. Bush, a man who was born to a tremendous amount of privilege, was somehow elected to the whitehouse twice in part by appearing to be less elitist than his opponents.
I feel like I’ve wandered off topic (I do that a lot when discussing politics), so let me sum up quickly so I can go to bed:
- Dowd is a hypocrite.
- Rove is a hypocrite
- All politicians are filthy stinkin’ rich. Deal with it.
- Finally, I want a president who is elite. Don’t you? Don’t you want the leader of the country to be smart and have track record of success? I want the president to be the best of the best, and nothing less.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I don’t want a President to be the best of the best: if so, why would s/he listen to advisors? Instead, what I’d like is a President who has good self-perception, and is willing to admit mistakes. God knows, whoever wins any elections will make plenty of mistakes – I want someone who can deal with those.
The question I’d like to see asked of all candidates is “on what substantial position have you changed your mind within the past ten years, and why?” If the answer is “nothing” then I don’t want to vote for them, because they’re not learning from their environment.
July 20th, 2008 at 7:56 am
I want a President who has the wisdom to listen to advice, weigh it against his own opinions, and then make the best possible decision out of love of country. I want a President whose strength does not preclude humility, and who might actually appreciate the words we say each morning: “Reisheet chochma yir’at HASHEM…” (The beginning of wisdom is the awe of G-d…)
That’s why I’m voting for John McCain in November.