Column:

Drop the elitism

By Rachel Kaufman

Published April 22, 2008

I have three papers, two projects and two capstone presentations due in the next week. I am bitter about that. I also cut my foot while walking home. I’m bitter about that, too. I am bitter about a lot of things. Who’s going to call me out on it? I hope it’s a politician and everyone jumps on him for pointing out the obvious.

OK, by now everyone is pretty familiar with Sen. Barack Obama’s statement about the bitterness of the blue-collared workers in Pennsylvania and how they cling to God and guns. You know, if I were generalized like that, I’d probably be a little bitter, too.

I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a moment before I explain why Obama, D-Ill., is digging himself into a hole of elitism. Many blue-collared workers are bitter about the economy. This is a true statement. I’m not a blue-collar worker; hell, I’m barely a worker, but I’m bitter, too. So thank you, Barack, for pointing this out. Where he got himself into trouble lies in the other part of his remarks.

Stereotypically, gun-toting God-loving men and women vote conservatively. Why would Obama risk his political success on a constituency that doesn’t want him to win anyway? That just doesn’t seem like the smartest move on his part. But the bigger picture reads like this. Obama has been touting “love thy neighbor” mentalities (which isn’t a bad thing), but here he is pretty much singling out a large section of the American people.

It’s no surprise that the country is polarized enough as is, but when prominent politicians stratify the country just a bit more, it serves little to no purpose.

Obama’s strategy thus far has been to appeal to the young and the working class, the every day people. Those are the people that want a “change.” Those are the bitter people. But when he was given the opportunity to speak with an upper-class audience in San Francisco, he took that opportunity to put down the people he’s been trying to bring up.

Why would everyday “normal” middle-class America support someone who spoke about himself as if he were better then they are? Again, that’s not really my thing. But the good part about being an American (ask his Rev. Jeremiah Wright) is that whole freedom of speech thing. I tend to agree with Obamamaniacs in this respect. Can a candidate not say anything remotely controversial without getting jumped on? Obama is not the only candidate that has made controversial statements on the campaign trail. And in retrospect, this statement isn’t even that bad. It’s not like he pulled a John Kerry and insulted the intelligence of U.S. soldiers.

Maybe you don’t like Obama’s personality. Maybe you don’t like his policies (or lack thereof). But you can’t get mad at the guy for saying that working-class America is bitter, because they are. Get mad about his hypocrisy and elitism.

On another note, I was thinking of a way to end this column while watching “True Life: I’m a Southern Belle” on MTV. Amid all the “Prom Night” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” previews, lurks a commercial starring Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi. I could not make this up if I tried. They are working together to stop global warming. I don’t know exactly what they’re doing or how they’re doing it, but if the two of them can actually work together to make a commercial, then I feel as though we should visit their anti-global warming Web site: www.Wecansolveit.org.