On a visit this last weekend to northern Michigan, I met a man who insisted that Barack Obama is an “elitist,” hardly a surprising charge by a Republican. Strangely, John McCain’s 7 houses and marriage to a rich woman aren’t enough to make him an elitist, too. The American version of elitism is social and cultural rather than economic, and I suspect that Obama’s multicultural background and cosmopolitan outlook made my new acquaintance level his accusation. When the media discovered in 2004 that John Kerry spoke French, there were plenty of snide comments suggesting that he was not a real American. In short, the more parochial and narrow the politician, the more likely it is that he will escape the elite label. Money, on the other hand, is a badge of achievement and honor. Material as opposed to intellectual wealth is tangible, and the real capital in political circles does not revolve around one’s knowledge of language, history, or even geography, but one’s ability to exist in the “real world” where the accrual of dollars defines character and confers the wisdom that no amount of learning can ever do.
