John McCain’s latest attack ad paints Obama, again, as the greatest celebrity in the world. It’s a weird line of attack to constantly remind people how popular your opponent is, but what’s weirder is how it paints the picture of Obama as a wealthy elitist who can’t understand how tough times are on the average folks.
Most semi-interested political watchers know that John McCain’s doing all right financially, what with the seven or eight houses and the beer executive wife with the private jet. McCain’s profile says his net worth is between $27-$45 million. Obama’s listed at between $450 thousand-$1.1 million. Is this line of attack fooling anyone?
Maybe. “Low-info” voters might think senators are rich and not go beyond that. Saying “McCain’s richer than Obama” might not have an effect. Maybe people assume when you’re on every magazine cover, you’re rich.
But what about “McCain’s richer than Paris Hilton?”
Estimates of Paris Hilton’s individual wealth are difficult to verify, until she really does run for president. Her dad’s worth $300 million, her granddad $2.3 billion. But granddad donated 97% of his wealth to charity and dad promised to do the same. Paris may have only gotten $20 million. Some random fan pages I found said she might be worth $50 million on her own, with her endorsements and fragrances and whatever else it is she sells.
John McCain’s trollop of a wife (his words, not mine, and I spared you the other one) Cindy is a money making machine. She’s a high-level lieutenant in a major drug pushing operation and has a worth estimated at $100 million.
I only went to public school, but I believe ($145,000,000 McCains) > ($50,000,000 Paris) > ($1,100,000 Obamas).
John McCain. Richer than Paris Hilton, but not quite as smart. See you at the debates, bitches!
6 responses so far ↓
1 Adam Graham // Aug 10, 2008 at 7:13 am
I was going to make a blog post at my own place responding to this, but you know I actually think McCain IS an elitist. I just think you’re using a faulty measurement.
You seem to be saying the amount of money someone makes determines how elitist and how out of touch they are. That’s not necessarily the case. Some folks are down to Earth types with $17 million, others can be elitists with mid-to-high salary jobs.
You see some of them on the left. They look down on people who go to Wal-Mart or other “big box” stores rather than going to Whole Foods. Same thing goes for restaurants. Dumb thing to be elitist about, but hey I’ve seen it. These people are totally out of touch with economic reality for those of us in the middle-to-lower middle class who basically would either not be able to afford their stories or would have a much lower standard of living if we tried to live that life.
Elitism is attitude. And the Obama’s have that aplenty. To act like you’re the second coming of Mother Teresa for going into the “Helping profession” as Michelle Obama and the sacrifices on a $320,000 a year salary is elitists.
To go into an economically area likes Zanesville and give, “Mama’s don’t let your babies grow up to be investment bankers” speech is elitism:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/29/michelle-obama-dont-go_n_89264.html
Or to complain to send people about the cost of music lessons for your kids shows that you really don’t get their struggles:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/s_556214.html
To suggest the price of gas going up is a good thing but that it just happened to quickly is elitism.
To accept the level of Messianic praise coming Obama’s way is elitism.
If you’re supporters want everybody standing at your acceptance speech to due to a bizarre cultic salute that was ripped off from Star Trek, that’s not elitism:
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/08/figures-weird-obama-salute-was-stolen.html
That is however, plain creepy.
2 "Radical" Russ // Aug 10, 2008 at 2:48 pm
OK, so the Obamas are elitist because of their attitude, doing things like working on the streets as a political organizer and forgoing a cushy Wall Street salary and just barely paying off student loans.
And the McCains, who haven’t pumped their own gas in years, who have Cindy’s private jet to get from place to place, they’re good ol’ down-home folks.
No, money is not a sole determinant of elitism, but it does make it tougher to get your camel through the eye of the needle.
Nobody I know on “the left” is looking down on people who shop at Wal-Mart. They look down on Wal-Mart. But to blame poor people for shopping at the only place they can afford is like blaming the troops for following Bush’s flawed war policy. (Well, not really “flawed”, the policy did exactly as it was intended. $1.50 gas went to $4.25. Mission Accomplished.)
3 Adam Graham // Aug 10, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Oh, I don’t think Cindy’s a good old home folk, but she’s hardly an elitist. Whether she pumps her gas or not, she goes and gets her hands dirty helping in the poor in foreign lands. She’s one of those rich people that feels a responsibility to care for other people. Cindy McCain is a class act and a fine human being, regardless of what I think of her husband.
Secondly, I think elitism is found in the attitude that everybody else has to do it. It fails to see the nobility of all labor and the differences made when people start businesses that better our world through the use of the market such as Kiva.
Social entrepreneurship is awesome too and is being used to alleviate problems around the world. Instead of encouraging this as Bill Clinton has done, Obama puts these people down, and it’s hypocritical because Obama has done pretty good for himself. His wife’s salary is $317,000 a year and he’s earned $165,000 as a U.S. Senator. They’re not hurting. (and her salary jumped $195,000 right after he was elected to the Senate and Obama got a million dollar earmark for the hospital. Coincidence, right?)
As for Student Loans, I’d humbly suggest that Barack and Michelle Obama chose to go to Harvard and Princeton. They didn’t have to. They could have either lowered themselves to working in the non-helping sector for five years, knocked out the Student Loans, and then gone into the Helping Sector without the debt. Or they could have lived super-frugally, driven eight and ten year old cars and rented in a moderate income part of Chicago. We’re supposed to Canonize them because they failed to properly plan for their future and ended up struggling on a household income in excess of $200,000?
To hear people earning 6 digit incomes whining about their finances is enough to make average Americans barf where the average person earns $43,000 per year.
I’ve actually read a blog a few years back about a liberal running into a big progressive guy at wal-mart and not wanting to mention who it was for fear of how it would harm his reputation.
4 "Radical" Russ // Aug 10, 2008 at 7:02 pm
“…she goes and gets her hands dirty helping in the poor in foreign lands…” when she’s not stealing the prescription drugs from those poor people.
“Cindy McCain is a class act and a fine human being…” who had no problem being the mistress to a married man who was abandoning his broken wife with massive medical bills.
5 Adam Graham // Aug 10, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Russ, when this whole thing happened, I was a 2nd Trimester Fetus. In 28 years, people change. If we’re fortunate to live that long, we may find in 28 years, we’re very different people than we are today.
I’ll cut her some slack, that she’s a far wiser woman at 54 than she was at 26. On top of that, she’s done more good for the world than you or I combined.
6 Adam Graham // Aug 10, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Okay, and Russ, she didn’t steal prescription drugs, she had doctors for her charitable organization write illegal prescriptions for her. No poor people were robbed. Doesn’t make what she did good, but it was 16 years ago.
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