Hey all. As promised, I’ve been working on other things over the past few days, and thus haven’t really been following the election news as closely as in recent months. I’d heard that Sen. Obama had basically restated the thesis of What’s the Matter with Kansas? at a fundraiser in San Francisco, and thought that, lordy, it was a slow news week. So, imagine my surprise when I settled in for the Sunday shows to discover that I was supposed to be outraged — outraged, I tell you! — at the import and tenor of Sen. Obama’s remarks. Across the board, the Washington punditariat had ratcheted up the pique to 11, lambasting Obama for being elitist and out-of-touch because he argued a case for the appeal of cultural conservatism in economic bad times that’s been made all over the place, not the least by the Clintons themselves. (By the way, this televised uprising of the pundit proletariat included several people I dealt with personally during my previous sojourn in DC and, well…let’s just say I wasn’t buying their newly-discovered blue-collar bona fides. Not. One. Bit. (and I’m not talking about Carville & Matalin, although they were in the mix on Sunday too.))
Enter Sen. Clinton, shameless as ever. Apparently seeing “Bitter-gate” as her last, best hope for the nomination, she’s plumbed new depths of self-parody this week, not only calling Obama an elitist but trying to recast herself as some kind of working-class hero. (I guess she assumed we’d all just forget that she made $109 million over the past seven years, has been running around with a Secret Service detail for nearly two decades, and has had people otherwise waiting on her since 1978. Springsteen, she’s not.) Nope, now she’s banging back boilermakers, attacking Obama like he’s the Second Coming of John Kerry (to the point of getting booed for it) and conjuring up this ridiculous ad of small-town folk aghast by Obama’s words.
Well, I guess I’m an out-of-touch elitist too, because, frankly, I’m just not seeing it. Not only does this entire brouhaha seems like a completely media-manufactured (and Clinton-prolonged) event to me, but I’d be highly surprised if the vast majority of people Obama was referring to take any offense whatsoever. In fact, if anything, I’d bet the people who are supposed to feel so put upon here may well end up feeling more condescended to by Clinton and the mass media for trying to tell them they should be ticked off. Just a hunch…I could be very wrong. With fifteen years and counting in BosWash, it’s been awhile since I’ve had my finger on the pulse of the Heartland. Still, I’m willing to bet that the white working-class Americans who are theoretically insulted by Obama’s words are smarter, and made of sterner stuff, than Clinton et al would give them credit for. And this too shall pass.
Update: Speaking of Springsteen, the Boss endorses Obama, in part due to Bitter-gate. “At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man’s life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams of My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.“
Jon Stewart was spot-on about this mess last night: made fun of Hill’s sudden pandering to the yokels, made fun of the media circus, and finished up by echoing my sentiments exactly— I want someone who’s elite (even elitist) after the past seven years.
All I can say is that my mom, a card-carrying middle-aged working-class white-woman, is as pro-Obama as ever. She does not take kindly to the rich bitch telling her that she should not be pissed-off about what’s been happening to our country all these years.
I don’t know about the people in PA, but almost everyone I know in NC would respond to Clinton’s new patronizing in the same incredulous way. That being said, seeing a bunch of rich people on TV talk about how the working class’s feelings have been hurt for the last few days has been one funny, queasy ride.
Yeah, I couldn’t believe the amount of traction this has had. I heard about it friday and resolved to ignore it, figuring it would have worked its way through the news cycle by monday and that would be it. I should have known better. This sort of thing is tailor-made for the Brooksian/Broderian mentality and approach. They can’t get enough of it.
He definitely stated it awkwardly, but as someone with roots in a small town exactly like he described, there is not much to quibble with or be offended by. I think he also takes the Frank thesis an important extra step, in noting that it’s not just that rural and working class voters have been hoodwinked into voting on cultural issues by the right, but that the left have abdicated their own responsibilities in terms of doing anything meaningful to really make it in their economic or class interest to vote for us.
It’s pretty rational for Rust Belt people to vote on cultural issues when no tangible help has been forthcoming to cushion the blows of NAFTA and globalization. And it’s pretty rational for rural people to see the left and the Dems as not caring about their interests when we don’t actually do anything in or for those communities as they slowly disintegrate for two generations and more. I wish he could use this to highlight those issues, and to show how his campaign and the 50-state strategy in general might have a chance to change that state of affairs. He tried to with his Terre Haute speech, but it hasn’t really stuck.
Well put, Jdunn. (and thanks for the DS link, Patrick — that’s classic.)
I love how when Obama did his “Put away the Popeyes” routine to a working-class African-American crowd several weeks ago, the (Caucasian) pundits applauded his brave penchant for truth-telling. But voice a discouraging word about the white working class and all of a sudden it’s katy bar the door.
Fortunately, I’m inclined to agree with Gaston: I highly doubt most working folk, white or black, share the thin skins and brittle egos of our comrades at the vanguard of the punditariat.
Hillary’s recent antics border on self parody. I actually felt embarrassed for her watching that TDS clip.