April 16, 2008

One of Sully's readers on elitism

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

My background: I'm an educated centrist, and as it were, gun-owner and sometime duck hunter.
On the 'elitist' debate: I've been amused to see the likes of Bill Kristol, Roger Kimball and Rich Lowry and other conservative commentators so incredibly desperate in their efforts to convince people like me that we're being looked down upon by Obama -- a black guy raised by a single mom who worked as an organizer among the poor of Chicago, etc. etc.
I personally don't feel in the least that Obama is an elitist. Rather, I feel the elitists are those highly educated, inside-the-beltway weenies like Kristol, the bow-tie wearing Kimball, the UVA grad and prepster Lowry who are tripping over themselves to tell me how offended I ought to feel when I know damn well I'm not offended. Id be shocked if Roger Kimball, Lowry or God knows Bill Kristol know the first thing about hunting ducks, or if they could survive ten minutes in a cold duck blind before dawn, the artery-clogging breakfast that follows or the round of beer and whiskey drinking that goes on the night before.

In my opinion, listening to these folks go on and on about how offended I should be makes me feel a hell of a lot more condescended to than hearing some single throw-away line at a fundraiser. Obama said his thing once; these wankers won't shut up. It's as if they think I'm too stupid to figure things out for myself, so they can't miss an opportunity to tell me how I've been slighted. Well sorry, weenies -- I just don't feel slighted, and that's because I'll be damned if I'm going to pick a president based on a stupid gaffe when there is a war going on and when the economy is going in the shitter. These guys must really think I'm a moron.
It is funny to see wealthy, elitist Republicans chiding a guy who grew up with his single mom. Of course, this is from the same people who said that Bush was a war hero and John Kerry a draft dodging hippie.

2 comments:

Bootleg Blogger said...

Streak- excellent find. This is exactly the sentiment I have been feeling and trying to express.

I was flipping the channels and on the way through the 24hr news group last night or the night before I was amused to see them discussing, according to the titles on the lower part of the screens, whether or not the media has over-emphasized Obama's "bitter" statement. I'm thinking it's a pretty good gig to get paid to make questionable news calls and then get paid the next day or two to discuss as news your news comments from the last few days. I'm thinking I went into the wrong business.
Later
BB

leighton said...

I'm thinking I went into the wrong business.

Reminds me of an exchange from Jon Stewart's Crossfire interview:

STEWART: ...Come work for us, because we, as the people...

CARLSON: How do you pay?

STEWART: The people? Not well.

BEGALA: Better than CNN, I'm sure.

STEWART: But you can sleep at night.