This is a really good article, and I’m no fan of Bill Clinton. You have to wonder how this Democrat won two terms, while other Democrats have a hard time even getting the Presidency. And the Republicans pretty much use the same strategy in every election: call their opponent a liberal, say the Democrat will raise taxes, bring up some scandals, and repeat all this over and over, such that it becomes a catch-phrase. How’s Bill Clinton think he surmounted all that? Read Bill Clinton’s advice to Barack Obama.
My favorite line from the article:
“One important thing to remember: Obama has never faced a serious race against a Republican. His important victories in Illinois and this year have all been against other Democrats in nomination battles.
“Some Clinton allies say this may tend to warp his perspective about how politics works and what kind of issues and stories matter in a presidential context. Bottom line: it does not matter who is getting better coverage in the New York Times.
‘”This is a new experience for Obama — facing a Republican who will do and say things far different from the Democrats he has faced. Republicans don’t care what Frank Rich, Maureen Dowd or establishment media has to say about them,’ said [Mark] Penn.”
Got that right! This is a whole new ballgame. If Obama wants to win, then any elitist mind-set he has must go! Or at least he should hide it, as Bill Clinton was able to do.
James' Ramblings 
I keep wondering why you think Obama has an elitist mindset?
I don’t get it? What is elitist about him?
Bryan
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I was just about to ask the same as Bryan. Do you know what elitist means?
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And I thought that the advice was incredibly patronising. From an outside perspective he’s far more sensible than anyone else and doing very well without this silly advice. But now I see it’s an article of speculation.
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Political strategist Drew Weston claims that politicians are elitist by nature.
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Well, if Barack is doing so well, Steph, how come he and McCain are dead even?
What I said, Bryan, was that if Obama has an elitist mindset, it may do him well to let go of it if he wants to win the election. What do I mean by that? I can’t read Obama’s mind myself, but I said that in reference to the article where that one strategist said Obama’s now running against people who don’t give a rip about the New York Times thinks. If Obama assumed that everyone cow-towed to that elite, then he’s in for a surprise.
But, in certain respects, I feel that Obama is an elitist in the sense that he’s patronizing to people in rural and small town communities, as a lot of liberals are. His statement about them clinging to guns and religion is a case in point.
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James:
If Obama is not doing well does that mean McCain isn’t either? ; )
“I can’t read Obama’s mind myself, but I said that in reference to the article where that one strategist said Obama’s now running against people who don’t give a rip about the New York Times thinks. If Obama assumed that everyone cow-towed to that elite, then he’s in for a surprise.”
I’m not really sure what your saying by this. Are people who read the NYT automatically elites?
Are the people he’s running against not elitist? Do you believe Obama runs his campaign based on what NYT says?
“His statement about them clinging to guns and religion is a case in point.”
That really is a debated statement though and it seems many just accepted the interpretation that they were given without really looking at the whole quote in context and what his own interpretation of his statement was. Sure “cling” was an unfortunate word but I don’t think that you can just write someone off as elitist based on one disputed statement especially when the whole statement isn’t being considered. What actions have we seen from Obama that suggest he is elitist? What other things has he said? I honestly have a feeling that he is more in touch with the average person than either McCain (with all his houses) or Palin (who lives in Alaska, which is a whole other world).
Just saying. : )
Bryan
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I said from an outside perspective James. We don’t judge him by your American polls. And I agree with Bryan … it seems to me that it is a pretty desperate attempt by Republicans to somehow fatally smear Obama. A bit like McCarthyism and so called “Marxists”. Kind of irrational.
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Hi Bryan.
No, I don’t think anyone who reads the New York Times is elitist. I subscribe to the free version that comes through the Internet. But it is an elite newspaper. It gives the impression that anyone who’s anyone cares what it thinks. And Democrats seem to care what it thinks about them. I can’t give you a crisp example at the moment, but certain people do seem to cow-tow to it because of its prominence.
I’m familiar with the context of Obama’s remarks: he pretty much said that Americans cling to guns and religion because Mommy government isn’t interested in their concerns (my paraphrase). But the statement exemplifies an attitude that characterizes a lot of the Left: one that’s patronizing and condescending. In the minds of people like that guy who wrote What’s the Matter with Kansas, no one in his right mind would vote Republican because he thinkgs the Republican policies are better for the country. No, we vote that way because of God, guns, and gays.
True, Obama has the background of a regular person. He didn’t grow up in a rich home. And he spent a lot of time helping the poor and the vulnerable. But he’s from elite universities. These are places that scorn the values of everyday people–that assume having an Ivy League education makes one better qualified to run the country and other people’s live than they can. This may be a hasty prejudice on my part, but we should remember that Obama is from the elite.
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Well, Steph, with all due respect, I put more stock in American polls than an outside perspective. Americans are the ones who are voting in this election. What France thinks doesn’t matter. I know of Europeans who could not stand George Bush in 2004. Guess who’s in the White House?
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Your sarcasm isn’t appreciated James. We are well aware who the voters are. We don’t have that much faith in them precisely because they put Bush in the Whitehouse – twice. And the second after his war which the rest of the world thinks is wrong. We are well aware that the majority of Americans are conservative Christians, creationists, anti abortion, homophobic, anti environment (especially in denying the human cause of climate change) and support wars we don’t so you might put McCain (owner of 7 houses who has failed before and even plagiarised British conservative speeches – we call him a warmonger) in the Whitehouse with his new VP, both of whom go down like a cup of cold sick. We respect Obama – he’s streets ahead of McCain. He has morals and integrity we respect and admire and he is the most sensible person we have seen in American politics. While naturally a person’s vote is for themselves, the fact you don’t care what the rest of the world thinks of the outcome of your election in the end is a reflection of an elitist attitude held by so many over there. McCain won’t win many friends and influence many people overseas but Obama already has.
Obama is elite because he went to university? Republicans are patronising and condescending to the rest of the world, the poor, the socially disadvantaged and people who don’t share their views.
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“We are well aware that the majority of Americans are conservative Christians, creationists, anti abortion, homophobic, anti environment (especially in denying the human cause of climate change)”
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Steph, that is a pretty blanket statement that reeks of the “ugly American” perception you and your “we” have about the United States. Just because America has put people like Bush and his ilk in the White House does not mean EVERYONE, or even the MAJORITY, supports the tenets of the right wing. Yes, there are many conservative Christians–largely due to historical reasons, perhaps the majority of Christians consider themselves to be “conservative”–but there are also many liberal Christians, agnostics, Jews, Muslims, et al. We are a pretty mixed bag, which is why Presidential elections can be so close and many voters are “undecided” right up until the end. The rest of your statement shows your preconceived notions about our country and our citizens. Who ends up in office has a lot to do with people NOT turning out and voting because, for many, it is a moot point, as they see no true choices. I, myself, lean towards Obama (despite his poor VP choice), and consider myself a liberal (pro-choice, etc.), but I find your ragging on Americans to be biased and ill-informed. Also, James did NOT say Obama was elitist because he went to University–he said he is from one of the “elite” Universities–a big difference, and YES, the university one attends in this country CAN make a difference if one is to enter into the political arena. I would stand by Weston’s assertion that “politicians by nature are elitist”, although I do feel Obama is more “to the people” oriented. So I, too, disagree with the concept that he is a “traditional” elitist. However, your comments are just rude, combative, and biased. I hope you are not representative of all the people in your country.
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“We are well aware that the majority of Americans are conservative Christians, creationists, anti abortion, homophobic, anti environment (especially in denying the human cause of climate change) and support wars we don’t so you might put McCain (owner of 7 houses who has failed before and even plagiarised British conservative speeches – we call him a warmonger) in the Whitehouse with his new VP, both of whom go down like a cup of cold sick.”
“Republicans are patronising and condescending to the rest of the world, the poor, the socially disadvantaged and people who don’t share their views.”
Steph, do you see any irony at all when I juxtapose those quotes?
You don’t like America’s war-mongering. Fair enough. I’ve expressed reservations about this war myself. But what would you have done about Saddam Hussein?
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The quote you selected janice was actually a quote from a prominent voice here in the media reflecting common opinion. Of course I know it is not “the majority” who hold these views or put Bush in office, but it is a substantial number of Americans and James’ rhetoric is trying to impress on me that this is so.
James: Yeah we can give as good as we get.
What would I have done with Saddam? Imposed sanctions on trade because he murdered his own people, not funded his regime and not taken his oil. As far as Osama goes and his masterminding of September 9th, the first thing I would do is withdraw all troops and dealings with the middle east. And then propose some diplomatic solution.
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Janice, the opinion I quoted and my feelings are indeed pretty reflective of commonwealth opinion of right wing america. Of course I think alot of us believe that Bush doesn’t deserve the presidency due to rather suspect election results and voter invalidation (not to mention non voters unlikely to be right leaning). A particular frustration of your right wingers is American intervention especially the Iraq war and my comment to James was in part frustration at his continuing insistence that Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 9th attacks, thereby somehow justifying the Iraq invasion. We have thousands of Americans living here having flocked here since Bush entered the Whitehouse. They get on very happily here and are very welcome. I guarantee all your expat votes from here will be for Obama.
I do believe all politicians are elitist to a degree – it is the nature of government. But I think – and so do all I hear here – that Obama is far more in touch with the people and reality.
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Janice, the opinion I quoted and my feelings are indeed pretty reflective of commonwealth opinion of right wing america. Of course I think alot of us believe that Bush doesn’t deserve the presidency due to rather suspect election results and voter invalidation (not to mention non voters unlikely to be right leaning). A particular frustration of your right wingers is American intervention especially the Iraq war and my comment to James was in part frustration at his continuing insistence that Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 9th attacks, thereby somehow justifying the Iraq invasion. We have thousands of Americans living here having flocked here since Bush entered the Whitehouse. They get on very happily here and are very welcome. I guarantee all your expat votes from here will be for Obama.
I do believe all politicians are elitist to a degree – it is the nature of government. But I think – and so do all I hear here – that Obama is far more in touch with the people and reality.
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We tried sanctions, Steph. They didn’t work.
Also, if Obama is so in touch with reality, why did he say that Iran is not a big threat, before saying it was?
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You didn’t try hard enough. And how didn’t they work? You didn’t give them time? That you gave up was still no justification for invading and killing innocent civilians. If only you stopped acting as policeman to the rest of the world. And in any case it was not the only reason you invaded. I am only using “you” because you said “we”.
I don’t agree with Obama on Iran. But it does not mean that he is out of touch with reality. He sees situations change. That is pretty in touch. But our government will not support any U.S. president bombing Iran.
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We had sanctions going back to the Clinton administration, and they too harmed innocent people, which shows that there aren’t perfect solutions. But Saddam found a way to bypass them with the oil-for-food program.
What’s your government? Is that New Zealand? I didn’t know it was particularly liberal.
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James, invasion isn’t the solution to anything.
We have had a left wing Labour government for three full terms now. Who knows, we may slip over to a centre right party for a term but it’s not very right wing like your Republicans. We opposed the Iraq war, we banned American nuclear ships from our waters in the 80’s and we are nuclear free – the first country to become so in 1984. We have a very strong Green party with seats in parliament. We have MMP voting which means minor parties can get elected to share power. Therefore we have mainly Labour with Greens. I hope the Maori party get a seat or to in the coming election. They too are naturally very left wing and our indigenous voice. We have priorities to conservation, sustainability and self sufficiency on an individual level. Thankfully we have not bowed under American pressure.
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I should have added that even the centre right opposition party opposed the Iraq war – the whole country opposed that war and we would not support an American led invasion of another country. I’m not sure England would either as 97% of their public opposed the war even when the British government became Bush’s lamb. The Australian public too opposed the war despite Howard the coward becoming Bush’s sherrif (so say the Aussies)
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I have a hard time believing THAT MANY of the British opposed the war. Blair won re-election during that time, didn’t he?
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It’s a fact. Check the statistics.
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The percentage was in the high
90’s – 97% if I remember correctly. Blair had lost alot of favour in the last election but he just slipped in due to having backed down on his war talk admitting his mistake. The Tories were worse. Just think – there are many “hard line” pro life Americans who still support McCain despite his more liberal view because Obama is pro choice.
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