Rush Limbaugh has a point. He said, "Obama is now the weakest of the Democrat nominees; he can win the educated, the snob elites, and the young, but not the working class, blue-collar voter".

Only in America is being an "elite" politician a bad thing. We hope that if and when we should get operated on, that we'll have an "elite" surgeon. Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan we love, because they are the "elite" in their fields. We want our kids to have the best and most "elite" teachers, hopefully. But Republicans have turned the word on it's head just as they've turned the word liberal on it's head over the last few decades. Nevermind that modern conservatism in America actually means neo-liberal-facism, what with invading countries on a whim, or spending taxpayer money more liberally than any other time in the history of the country.

So what gives? When I imagined Obama going to sleep next to his wife these last few weeks, I imagined a reasonned and intelligent man admitting to his wife that his problem is the fact that he's not dumb enough for most Americans. I wonder how he's dealing with that? I wonder what Barack and Michelle's intimate moments are like, right at this moment. What a hard truth they are having to face about their own country. A nation filled with fine and very hard-working people who mostly don't pay enough attention to the big picture.

Limbaugh has a point. The only constituency Obama hasn't won over in the Democratic primaries is the working-class vote, which Hillary has won handily. How? By pandering. What a sad statement it is about a country that so many of her voters are convinced that eliminating the gas tax for the summer is the best option. What a con.

I like Obama. If he becomes President, the world will at least be able to admit that America chose better this time. But you can't win the White House without the "hick" vote. The working-class vote. The blue collar vote. Whatever it is that you want to call that huge swash of Americans who work their asses off for the smallest piece of the pie. They've been conned for so long that the only candidates they respond to are the ones who con them the best and in the most clever ways.

It isn't about what you stand for or your ideas to these people. It's all about if you walk and talk like them. How sad. Obama is a really good man. He's "with it" about most policy issues, and he's very brave for having as part of his stump speech the fact that the problems in America are so huge that gay marriage ought to really take a back seat right now.

I think it's laughable the idea that if Hillary loses that her supporters won't fall in line with Obama, but on the other hand, I wouldn't put it past many idiots these days to just stay home or to vote precisely against their interests by going with John McCain.

I don't agree with Rush on much, but on the working-class vote, I completely agree with him.

Huh. I've never wondered what a politician says to his/her spouse when they are in bed together. In fact, I find that visual you've painted rather disturbing.

__________________
I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them clear across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them, speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American. ...a tradition

Garbage, being an elitist is a problem everywhere in the world for politicians.

Followed by:

Yes clearly the fact that you don't know what the definition of elite is, is indeed the fault of the GOP.

well lets move this to the breaking news section then
Im a working class blue collar voter, and so are all my friends. Guess who we are supporting? Obama.
But lets have a look at the states he has won that are predominatly white and chalk full of middle class folks who often times turned out in record numbers to support him.
Iowa, Maine, Colorado, North Dakota, Kansas, Idaho, Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska, Washington, Delaware, Missouri, Texas, Utah, Wisonsin.
I just gave you a list of 15 states, most of whom had record turnouts for this primary, and they are a mix of red and blue states, but the one thing they have in common is they are mostly white, mostly working class. He won all of these. I could go on, but I think the proof is in the pudding. He can win the working class voters and he has.
This whole notion about him being an elitist and not capturing middle class voters is just a bunch of parrots repeating what your talk radio and cable pundits tell you to.
Everyone seem to be overlooking at the methods of attack by his opponents. How in the fuck can Hillary and McCain claim with a straight face that he is an elitist, especially when it comes to those two, or "Rush get me some more pills Limbaugh"

Do you know why he appeals to regular people, because he is honest, he doesnt attack like the others, he lets his policies and his vision for the country speak for itself. What the average middle class American is sick of, is the same bad actors getting recycled in the same tired roles. He is a human being, not a robot. Sure he isnt perfect and nobody is, and if you are looking for perfection in a President you need to move to somewhere else because you will be disappointed in America.

Why cant we collectively raise above this bullshit after 5 years of war, and 8 years of divisiveness. It is time for change. I am not better off now than I was 8 years ago, I am not better off than I was even 4 years ago. I am a hell of a lot worse off to be honest, and I know Im not the only one. So why would I want more of the same?

__________________
Abstinence Education at its finest:

Maybe the reason the white working class don't like Obama is because of his supporters. These people are not stupid; they have not been conned, and they certainly don't dislike Obama because he's too intelligent. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe they genuinely don't think that Obama is the right candidate? The fact that they vote differently to you is not evidence of stupidity, or not seeing the bigger picture. Maybe it's you who has been conned.

What the rest of the world thinks of the American President should not be the most important factor in deciding who to vote for. I think the elitist tag comes from the fact that so many of his supporters seem to care more about what the rest of the world thinks about them, rather than who can improve the country.

Him saying that gay marriage can wait is not brave; it is stalling. Millions of his fellow citizens are being denied basic rights. That would be like the American Presidents of the 60s and 70s saying that civil rights and feminism could wait because of more pressing problems.

I concur. The "working class" people I know, go to party meetings with, conversed with at Congressional District Caucuses are 2 to 1 for Sen Obama. We crushed the record for turnout here and we had primary caucuses not all day voting. Clinton's claim that Sen Obama "can't win the big states" is fodder for people who are so naive about politics as to not understand the difference between primaries and generals.

As per usual, Rush "Druggie" Limpdick is talking out of his ass.

What's even more ridiculous is this exclusion of African Americans from "the working class." We know, from economic stats alone that African Americans are disproportionately represented in lowe income brackets, but no one talks to them as being part of the "working class" and they support Obama. And by the way Obama being black is not the only reason black people vote for him. Black people wouldnt vote for Clarence Thomas, J.C. Watts, or Juan Williams at the rate they support Obama. He is black AND in line with most black voters general political leanings. So lets de-raciallize our discussion of the "working class", shall we?

__________________
If you stop trying to bring the Bible into the classroom, I'll stop secretly sneaking biology textbooks into the pews on Saturday nights. Deal?

If the flag is precious to YOU, then don't burn YOURS.

You fall right into the trap. All 3 candidates are "elite" politicians. That's my point. Obama is an "elite" to most of us regular folks, because he's a bit smarter and ahead of us on any number of pressing issues. Why is that so bad though?

You just said how can they claim Obama to be an elitist. But all three of them are, and that's precisely why they should be president more than the average person.

It's great that Obama got all that support in those states, but remember that many of those voters were Independents and Republicans who voted in the Democrat primary. When it comes to Ohio and Pennsylvania and Florida, the 3 most crucial states in November since you must win at least two of those to be President, Obama did not carry any of these against Clinton. And it was because of old people and the rural vote, who continue to vote on bullshit issues like guns and gays and faith instead of the more pressing issues of our time like global warming, jobs, the deficits, social security, and the two endless wars.

Again, what I'm saying is, in America, why is so bad to be seen as an elite politician? What does it say about national character that regular people are so offended by someone who might be just a little notch above their everyday ignorance that they call them a snob the minute they learn that someone else might be smarter than them? JFK was the last president that people voted for because they wanted someone better than them, someone smarter, a real leader. Ever since then it's been all superficiality, with regular people always voting for the guy who shakes hands best and "sounds just like us".

There are always exceptions to the rule, which you and your family certainly are. But right now, Obama's big problem is courting the working class vote in the places it matters most. These people vote for the craziest things, and they get scared very effectively by nonsense and bullshit issues. It's just really sad that Obama is going to have to dumb himself down to reach these people, rather than pulling people up, if you know what I mean.

But getting up to speed and learning something means that you have to admit that you didn't know something, and nowadays people get all bent out of shape by having to admit when their eyes have opened to something and they just savage the teacher instead of just learning and growing.

I dont disagree with your post Jason. I would agree that it is better to have those that have been successful in thier own private lives to lead the country. There is no question. And except for one statement to 20 people in a SF apartment, he is by far the least stuck up of the 3 in the race. I see him as much more normal and down to earth than the other two. So my point in my previous post was that all of his criticism, which is that he is an elitist, and the flap over Wright, are blown way out of proportion and it shows to me that his opponents are grasping at straws, afraid of what he has been able to accomplish in this election.
The right better come up with something better than repeatedly hammering on Wright and being an elitist, because it only holds so much water, and the bucket is nearly full. The American people are getting tired of it, if Obama isnt found to have a love child by August, keeping on Wright will only hurt them.

__________________
Abstinence Education at its finest:

I wonder if what you're saying about working-class people voting against candidates perceived as intellectual is actually true. Could that not be a distortion caused by looking only at recent history? I'll grant you that Bush comes across as a regular guy even though he's not one, but surely everyone knew Clinton was a Rhodes scholar and a very clever fellow, and if there was ever a candidate who screamed "money" out of every pore, it was Bush the elder. Reagan? He was a movie star fercryinoutloud! How "regular guy" can that be?

I suppose you could say that Carter came across like a regular guy. Nixon sure didn't though, nor Johnson, and of course to suggest that about JFK is just silly.

I don't think that dog will hunt, honestly.

I wasn't "raciallizing" anything.

Illinois is a progressive state.

I'm talking more about Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, where Obama took college towns, the youth vote, the educated, and the big cities. But he completely bombed in the rural areas and with older people in these states, and this is not good since every four years in November, young people can't be found, and old people vote en masse, as usual.

What I'm saying is that there is a stigma among lots of working-class people that when they hear someone who might know more about "stuff" then they do, they are more apt to writing you off as a snob or an "elitist" than wanting to hear you out and learn something. Why is this the case throughout so much of that section of the public?

It used to be that people wanted to be "lifted up" to a smarter leader's level, but now it's about how effective a Presidential candidate "dumbs down" to reach the lowest common denominator so as not to offend them. That's why Obama got in trouble in Pennsylvania with his comments. Not everyone took it bad, but some people did. And what was he saying? That rural working-class voters get scared into voting on bullshit issues like gays, guns and religion, and fall into the trap, rather than rising above it and voting for the really important things. Obama was made to seem like an "elitist" because he spoke the truth.

We wouldn't want our doctor or a surgeon to be the type who "sounds the way we do", so why is this now the litmus test for picking a President? And don't tell me it isn't.

You do realize Obama admitted using cocaine in his book and it's been suggested by numerous sources that he might have sold it at one point don't you?

Does this mean you're going to start referring to him as cokehead Obama?

Jason my issue your ignoring of the word "white" before "working class." In Ohio the black wokring class voted for Obama. The term "working class" is used to describe poor white folks because there's this annoying idea that black people do not work. Clearly "workers" are part of the "working class." When you talk about low income workers who aren't supporting Obama the only group you can really talk about are low income whites and latinos.

__________________
If you stop trying to bring the Bible into the classroom, I'll stop secretly sneaking biology textbooks into the pews on Saturday nights. Deal?

If the flag is precious to YOU, then don't burn YOURS.

Why would they? Obama has never held a job outside of academia he's never actually had to encounter many of the day to day problems avg americans face every day. He has marxist tendencies going back to his affiliation with that radical terrorist Aires. On the other hand McCain is a decorated war hero who has shown his steadfast ability to do what is right in the face of death, not to mention McCains appeal to the elderly which is something Obama has no chance of gaining.

So again why not push Obama as an elitist who's never held a real job against a war veteran decorated many times over who is viewed by many as a rebel and not really republican?

Hilary Shelton director of naacp's washingtons bureau;

Election 2008 - The African American Vote