Thomas Frank: Obama's Touch of Class

[babylonsister]

Obama's Touch of Class
By THOMAS FRANK
April 21, 2008; Page A17



Allow me to introduce myself. According to the general clucking of the national punditry, my 2004 book – "What's the Matter With Kansas?" – is supposed to have persuaded Barack Obama to describe the yeomanry of Pennsylvania as "bitter" people who "cling to guns or religion or . . . anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Mr. Obama's offense is so grave that the custodians of our national consensus have elevated it to gatehood: "Bittergate."


In truth, I have no way of knowing whether some passage of mine inspired Mr. Obama's tactless assertion that the hard-done-by clutch guns and irrationally oppose free-trade deals. In point of fact, I oppose many of those trade deals myself.

But I know one thing with absolute certainty. The media flurry kicked up by Mr. Obama's gaffe powerfully confirms an argument I actually did make: That as they return again to the culture war, what the soldiers on all sides are doing is talking about class without actually addressing the economic basis of the subject.

Consider, for example, the one fateful charge that the punditry and the other candidates have fastened upon Mr. Obama – "elitism." No one means by this term that Mr. Obama is a wealthy person (he wasn't until last year), or even that he is an ally of the wealthy (although he might be that). What they mean is that he has committed a crime of attitude, and revealed his disdain for the common folk.

It is a stereotype you have heard many times before: Besotted with latte-fueled arrogance, the liberal looks down on average people, confident that he is a superior being. He scoffs at religion because he finds it to be a form of false consciousness. He believes in regulation because he thinks he knows better than the market.

"Elitism" is thus a crime not of society's actual elite, but of its intellectuals. Mr. Obama has "a dash of Harvard disease," proclaims the Weekly Standard. Mr. Obama reminds columnist George Will of Adlai Stevenson, rolled together with the sinister historian Richard Hofstadter and the diabolical economist J.K. Galbraith, contemptuous eggheads all. Mr. Obama strikes Bill Kristol as some kind of "supercilious" Marxist. Mr. Obama reminds Maureen Dowd of an . . . anthropologist.

Ah, but Hillary Clinton: Here's a woman who drinks shots of Crown Royal, a luxury brand that at least one confused pundit believes to be another name for Old Prole Rotgut Rye. And when the former first lady talks about her marksmanship as a youth, who cares about the cool hundred million she and her husband have mysteriously piled up since he left office? Or her years of loyal service to Sam Walton, that crusher of small towns and enemy of workers' organizations? And who really cares about Sam Walton's own sins, when these are our standards? Didn't he have a funky Southern accent of some kind? Surely such a mellifluous drawl cancels any possibility of elitism.

more...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120873309012529689.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[ClayZ]

1. K and R

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. K & R for my homeboy!

:bounce:

[DesertFlower]

3. Old Prole Rotgut Rye.

:rofl:

K&R

[Eric J in MN]

4. The Wall St. Journal is giving him a weekly column.

Is he their first liberal columnist?

"Mr. Frank is the author of 'The Wrecking Crew,' forthcoming from Metropolitan Books. He will begin a weekly column each Wednesday in the Journal on May 14."

[babylonsister]

5. The WSJ might see which way the wind is blowing, and getting on board. nt

[SeattleGirl]

6. Thanks for posting this, sister!

Great article, and he is absolutely correct!

[babylonsister]

7. Girlfriend, can you feel it?

It's getting pretty serious now; Tuesday, I might have to have a few pops to calm down. I hope you are around. :pals:

[Miss Authoritiva]

8. Great concluding paragraph

If Barack Obama or anyone else really cares to know what I think, I will simplify it all down to this. The landmark political fact of our time is the replacement of our middle-class republic by a plutocracy. If some candidate has a scheme to reverse this trend, they've got my vote, whether they prefer Courvoisier or beer bongs spiked with cough syrup. I don't care whether they enjoy my books, or would rather have every scrap of paper bearing my writing loaded into a C-47 and dumped into Lake Michigan. If it will help restore the land of relative equality I was born in, I'll fly the plane myself.

Emphasis added.

[babylonsister]

9. Imagine if we could reverse the trend. It is doable! nt

[judasdisney]

10. Wow -- scathing for Clinton, glowing for Obama ... and what's this doing in the WSJ?

This is like a molotov cocktail into the WSJ office by top respected author.

Wow.