Starbucks Does Not Equal Savvy

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  • Posted By: nhubbell84 @ 09/24/2008 4:12:06 PM

    This is ridiculous.

    You can't sling the word elitist at Obama. He used loans to get through school, gave up a high paying job to do civil service after getting out of law school, was the first African American to be editor of the Harvard Law Review, and only met his estranged father once in his life.

    So the man was motivated and wanted to get an education? That makes him an elitist?

    WHAT IS THIS COUNTRY'S PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE EDUCATED? Being educated gives you the power to do whatever you put your mind to. Being a hillbilly gives you the power to....ummm....somehow get nominated as the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States....

    Seriously, what the hell is going on?

  • Posted By: PLS1 @ 09/24/2008 2:18:14 PM

    Interesting title, given Gerson's claim that some of his best speech writing came while sitting in Starbucks.

    Michael - please look up logic in the dictionary and then use it in your argument.

    Imagine this: a plane is going down, the pilot is unconscious, there is another pilot onboard, willing to take over ... but ... he's an elitist. On the other hand, there's Palin. Let's have her bring us down, because after all, 'it is values that often make the difference'.

    Creationism over Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Uhhmmm. No. Maybe for the bake sale. Not for the key to our 'Nucular' arsenal.

    So Michael, you're on that plane. 10,000 feet. 9,000 feet. 8,000 feet. Michael? Michael?

  • Posted By: PLS1 @ 09/24/2008 2:16:48 PM

    Interesting title, given Gerson's claim that some of his best speech writing came while sitting in Starbucks.

    Michael - please look up logic in the dictionary and then use it in your argument.

    Imagine this: a plane is going down, the pilot is unconscious, there is another pilot onboard, willing to take over ... but ... he's an elitist. On the other hand, there's Palin. Let's have her bring us down, because after all, 'it is values that often make the difference'.

    Creationism over Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Uhhmmm. No. Maybe for the bake sale. Not for the key to our 'Nucular' arsenal.

    So Michael, you're on that plane. 10,000 feet. 9,000 feet. 8,000 feet. Michael? Michael?

  • Posted By: Saci @ 09/24/2008 11:51:34 AM

    Kudos do Michael Gerson for bringing back a non-entity like William Jennings Bryan to prove a point about Sarah Palin. So they both appeal to the lower instincts of a bunch of Western yahoos. Big deal. The only positive side to la Palin is she makes us forget about John McCain, who, last I heard, is still running for President.
    But to be fair, they say Gerson became embittered after he and thousands of other White House speechwriters got laid off when the Federal Government outsourced that department to India. And frankly, it burns my butt to think that nowadays G. W. Bush's speeches are all being penned by some guy named Patel. On the other hand, that's the beauty of the free market.
    What I like about Gerson is he's an average guy with no special talents -- just plain folks, you might say -- tending bar at night to keep body and soul together because his two day jobs -- senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations and piecework for Newsweek simply can't pay the rent. And of course he's probably got two kids studying at the local community college -- one wanting to be a nurse, the other learning to fix computers.
    So, yes, he hit the nail on the head. Elitists can be badly wrong. Populists can be resoundingly right. And what's more, elitists cn make absolutely the best decisions, and populists can be real idiots. Because let's face it: values sometimes make no difference at all.

  • Posted By: TruthForward @ 09/24/2008 9:40:45 AM

    A law education is not elitism. Most legislators have law degrees. Only celebrities get elected without having a law degree.

  • Posted By: lesliealex @ 09/20/2008 5:28:02 PM

    Mr. Gerson has it exactly right. It seems finally the traditional "elite" may be getting it: everyday Americans rearing children, paying bills, changing diapers, doing dishes and giving their hearts to the mundane duties of life are tired of being put down. Tired of being spoken of and written about like we are unsophisticated and ignorant because we love our families and our country and take our responsibilities seriously. Yes, we salute the flag and say bedtime prayers with our children. Yes, we are hunters and fisherman and stay-at-home moms and working moms and writers and teachers and oil-field workers and high-school educated and post-graduate and everything in between. We are of the media talking down to us like we are dumbasses because we drive a regular car and occasionally shop at Walmart. We are smart, discriminating and thoughtful--and we see through the condescending arrogance. Palin has struck a huge chord: beautiful, smart, authentic, tough, kind, maternal and unapologetically American. She is us. That is why we love her.

    • Posted By: orangemom @ 09/20/2008 6:59:07 PM

      Guess what! I am beautiful, tough, smart, authentic, kind, maternal, and unapologetically American. And I support Barack Obama. How dare you say that I am not American because I support Obama. HOW DARE YOU. You don't know what a real American looks like. It looks like me.

      • Posted By: lexi97701 @ 09/21/2008 8:32:34 PM

        You go OrangeMom. Guess what? I'm a 47 y.o. Good looking, normal educator with a happy home, kids, dog and cats. We are Normal Americans. And we don't want our childrens lives at stake because some politican that will do and say anything to get into his 8th house wants to pull a political stunt and put all of us in harms way if anything happens to him being the oldest person to ever run for president! She is NOT ready to be the President and I don't want her or trust her to deal with the Russian and the Chinese! WAKE UP AMERICA, YOUR KIDS LIVES DEPEND ON IT!

        • Posted By: regulatedtodeath @ 09/23/2008 8:38:19 PM

          Guess what! I also am a smart, tough, authentic, proud-to-be American. And I support the McCain/Palin ticket because simply because there is no way I could evern support the Obama/Biden. Being 'American' isn't a party or a face - it's the privilege of being able to dissent with others in a positive fashion and accept that fact that you will disagree with some and disagree with others. I don't accept what the press tells me I must accept, but make my own decisions based on research. The best would be to can both sets of individuals and start from square one, but that, unfortunately, isn't an option.

    • Posted By: fccFH @ 09/22/2008 11:53:41 AM

      You know, politicians are really the only people who use the term Average American. There really is no Average American, we are all different- but we all love our families, do the dishes, change diapers, etc- and that is not something only Republicans do. We have different jobs, different perspectives, and different beliefs, religious or otherwise- so it is just as petty to throw around the term elitist as it is ignorant- because those terms do not go hand in hand with either party. That was until Palin came into the picture. Great, she is unapologetically American- and she says she is ready at a moments notice- but does she know what she is ready for? It does seem like you are making a very simple and naïve call her by voting for her because she is like you. Before Palin, people were not dismissed for where they shopped, if they hunted, what they drove, where they live??? we were just all regarded as part of this melting pot we call America. But one major, unifying aspect of this country is that most American???s do not know the issues that plague America- they only know what plagues them. Those who are in office need to have a varied understanding of this country and other countries as well. Palin doesn???t. Please think about this- are you ready to take office right now. Would you and can you talk down a nuclear missile crisis, do you actually understand the correlation between what happens on Wall Street and what happens on Main Street and why regulation is needed or maybe not needed so that a trickle down affect does not occur affecting, say, your mortgage. Do you know how many millions of people in this country are uninsured and what the cost would be to cover them all- and better yet, how would you attack that problem. If another hurricane were to hit, how would you handle millions of people that have lost everything? If another terrorist attack hit our country, who would you attack or should you even attack, and better yet, do you know enough about the different terrorist organizations, countries, and cultures, have you experienced them, met their leaders, understood the issues plaguing their country? Ask yourself: ARE YOU READY TO BE PRESIDENT? You may be all American, but that does not mean you are President material, nor does that mean you are somehow stupid or being dismissed. But don???t vote for yourself if you know you can???t do this job. I can???t, and I am sure every person on this site cannot either. We have already had a President who lacked the skills and knowledge, please do not repeat the same mistake. We need to learn from our past. Though I drastically disagree with Palin on almost all of her stances, I am proud that she has a following, and she is strong mother, and she, after all- All American. But that does not mean she should be holding such a high executive position.

  • Posted By: ashabee113 @ 09/22/2008 8:27:32 PM

    SO flippin tired of hearing people only voting for obama only b/c of his color. so ignorant and stupid. "hey ya, i know he could possibly be the antichrist, but let's just vote for him b/c he's black and it'll be the first black man as president" that just makes a whole bunch of since people...OBAMA IS NOTTTTTTTTT AFRICAN-AMERICAN!!!! you have to be in the double digits to be considered african-american and he's only 6% african-american...so is that a double digit??? NO, so he is NOT african-american. McCain all the way. i'll take a POW who's willing to die for his country over someone who has no clue, never votes on anything, and has to use help b/c he can't make a decision for himself.

    • Posted By: Hillaricee @ 09/22/2008 11:20:07 PM

      Asabee what is this double digit bullshit? Arab, 43% and 6% African American and the rest white, you are a moron obviously. For your information Obama is legally white, because his mother was lily white like you!

      • Posted By: Kieran O'Meara @ 09/23/2008 8:36:02 PM

        Who are the people out there who are only voting for Obama bc he is black? I know a fair share of Obama supporters, and none of them have mentioned his "blackness" as their criteria for voting for him, but rather his IDEAS, his CONVICTION, his INTELLIGENCE, his VALUES. Was McCain willing to die for his country? Or was he just unlucky enough to be captured, and just had to deal with the situation at hand for as long as it lasted UNTIL his familial connections helped get him rescued? What about all of the other POWs who never came back? And the suggestion that Obama "may be the anticrist" is laughable. In fact, as I wrote this, I started to believe that you actually mean to be comical with your out there claims. But if you are not going for comic effect, then it all becomes very understandable that you are a McCain-Palin supporter, of the variety that don't like thinkin' too much. Have fun waiting for the rapture with Sarah Barracuda, that "first dude" guy, big bad John, and stepford Cindy!

  • Posted By: ashabee113 @ 09/22/2008 8:23:36 PM

    I'm just tired of hearing people say they're going to vote for obooboo (ya i know his real name but i like this one better) because he'll be the "first african-american to be president" Really people? you're going to vote on just color?? grow up, this is about someone leading our country and it shouldn't be about color. it's just sickening when all people can use to back him up with is that "o he's african-american" PEOPLE read the facts! HE IS NOT AFRICAN AMERICAN! 43% ARAB, 6% African-American and the rest caucasian...you have to be in the double digits to be considered african-american. quite being stupid and know your facts before you open your mouths!

    • Posted By: RurrrJurrr @ 09/23/2008 8:17:34 PM

      ashabee, leave the Rush Limbaugh talking points at home (or preferably, nowhere). Please try to think for yourself. Please look up the definition of Arab, please take a geography lesson, please think hard about the term "African American," please learn your history so you will know better than to "one drop rule" us in the comments. Obama's father is Kenyan, which makes him East African, not Arab (I can't believe I have to type this). Obama's mother is American. If you think about it, this makes him *literally* African American. He is not African American as commonly defined (that is, not born to a black American father or mother), though growing up a black man in America means that he is, at least in part, culturally African American. Now please try to expand your news horizons beyond radio comedian blowhards. There are plenty of reasons to vote for Obama, your sensitivity to black solidarity notwithstanding.

  • Posted By: Ron Paul For Pope @ 09/23/2008 4:22:38 PM

    William Jennings Bryan successfully prosecuted the Scopes Monkey Trial. Sarah Palin couldn't argue her way out of a paper bag.

    If you want true Christian firepower, she ain't it. In fact, the better analogy would have been to compare W.J. Bryan to Huckabee. At least he could hold his own under fire, and come out smiling.

  • Posted By: rangerone314 @ 09/23/2008 2:41:14 PM

    Trishalish @ 09/23/2008 2:00:41 PM::::::::::
    Comment: Why is Obama elite for being in the Senate owning 1 home and 1 car and John McCain isn't elite for having millions of dollars and seven houses and at least 13 cars and being in the senate. Sarah Palin isn't elite, she's a hillbilly in Prada. Sarah Palin is asexist and an insult to women.

    I can answer that question: Obama is elite because he graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna *** laude from Harvard, as opposed to McCain who finished 894 of 899 in his Naval Academy Class. (look it up--its easy to find). Palin went to 5 different colleges to get a Bachelors in Journalism.

    I seem to recall Thomas Jefferson being a pretty sharp person; I'm not sure after nearly 8 years of Bush's "Idiocracy", why we'd want to continue such.

  • Posted By: rangerone314 @ 09/23/2008 2:35:37 PM

    Trishalish @ 09/23/2008 2:00:41 PM
    Comment: Why is Obama elite for being in the Senate owning 1 home and 1 car and John McCain isn't elite for having millions of dollars and seven houses and at least 13 cars and being in the senate. Sarah Palin isn't elite, she's a hillbilly in Prada. Sarah Palin is asexist and an insult to women.

  • Posted By: rangerone314 @ 09/23/2008 2:34:00 PM

    William Jennings Bryan is an interesting choice to invoke in discussing Sarah Palin, considering his role as prosecutor in the Scopes "Monkey" trial. Palin is and Bryan was, a strong supporter of creationism as opposed to evolution.

    I can only wonder, if McCain were to die and office and she became President, if she would hasten the arrival of the Apocalypse, since she believes in the Rapture, which is where all the Christian believers get whisked away to the safety of Heaven while they are still alive, and all the non-Christians are left behind in a hellish world experiencing the Apocalypse and the coming of the Anti-Christ.

  • Posted By: Trishalish @ 09/23/2008 2:00:41 PM

    Why is Obama elite for being in the Senate owning 1 home and 1 car and John McCain isn't elite for having millions of dollars and seven houses and at least 13 cars and being in the senate. Sarah Palin isn't elite, she's a hillbilly in Prada. Sarah Palin is asexist and an insult to women.

  • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 09/22/2008 6:33:06 PM

    Everyone assumes that Obama has always performed well, and we hear a lot about Obama at Harvard, but nothing much about Obama's performance at Columbia. Here's what I have been able to find:

    Unlike McCain, nobody knows just how well Mr. Obama performed while at Columbia. The Obama campaign has refused to release his college transcript. Of course this was while he was using cocaine, so it would not be surprising if his college transcript reflected some problems.

    Federal law limits the information that Columbia can release about Mr. Obama's time there. A spokesman for the university, Brian Connolly, confirmed that Mr. Obama spent two years at Columbia College and graduated in 1983 with a major in political science. He did not receive honors, Mr. Connolly said, though specific information on his grades is sealed. A program from the 1983 graduation ceremony lists him as a graduate."

    http://www.nysun.com/new-york/obamas-years-at-columbia-are-a-mystery/85015/

    Makes me wonder how he got into Harvard, and why he didn't apply to Columbia Law School, or maybe he did, but was not admitted.

    Someone pulled some strings.

    • Posted By: Anon1999 @ 09/23/2008 3:50:59 AM

      Why would you go to Columbia Law if you got into Harvard Law? HLS is consistently ranked above Columbia, although both are excellent schools. At Harvard, he excelled. His track record speaks for itself and he proved himself more than qualified. He was editor-in-chief of the law review, the most esteemed position in all of law school. Obama went on to graduate magna *** laude, meaning he was in the top 10% of his class. Note that law school grading is blind, meaning professors do not know whose exams they are grading. He got into Harvard because he's really smart and exceptionally qualified. Whatever you think about his politics, the man is incredibly intelligent.

      • Posted By: alfacanguro @ 09/23/2008 1:55:51 PM

        I would add that becoming joining Law Review requires superior grades, and becoming Editor of Law Review requires the support and approval of his peers. You don't get there by having someone else pull strings or by getting extra points for being a minority, which I presume this original poster would like us to infer. Compare that with McCain's bottom-of-the-class ranking at the Naval Academy (one wonders whether his Admiral father and grandfather pulled strings to get him in), or with Palin's 6 colleges in 6 years just to graduate from some podunk college. Why do conservatives choose the most intellectually incompetent candidates to lead their party?

  • Posted By: booklady @ 09/23/2008 12:37:57 PM

    In reading everyone's comments, I have to wonder why we must find something personally wrong with someone to justify voting for the other person. I am voting for Senator Obama because I believe in his standing on the issues. I like Senator McCain, but I worry about getting into another war and the impact on the greatest military in the world. While I applaud Govenor Palin's abilty to juggle motherhood and a career, she is not unique in this respect. Women all over this country do that every day. As for Senator Biden, I just like him. I like to read biographies and do research on people in power. Can we not as Americans, agree to disagree and try to do what is right for the country. Stop being Democrat or Republican and just focus on being American. As for an individuals religious beliefs, they are a personal thing. Your relion should govern your behavior not dictate to others. Something I believe in as an American is freedom of speech, but not personal attack. I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

  • Posted By: MNDeb @ 09/23/2008 12:06:38 PM

    Sarah Palin is a joke!!! She has banned reporters in her U.N. meetings today. She has never met with the press or answered any questions (except with Gibson) unless she had a script or a "friendly" interviewer. IS SHE REALLY THAT INEXPERIENCED???? OR THAT STUPID???? She must be! Otherwise she would be able to handle the demands of her job, just like every other VP candidate has.

    So my question is: How can anyone believe she is ready to be the VP of the United States???

    I am tired of this whole "elite" discussion. I don't want a president and vice president who are "just like me." I want leaders who are well-educated and intelligent, who have the smarts to lead our country in the right direction and get us out of the messes the present administration has left us.

  • Posted By: jwaldrop3 @ 09/22/2008 11:13:45 AM

    Obama's idea for America is socialism. Read his book. He also said, in his book, that, if it came down to a clash between the West and Islam, he would stand with his muslim brothers. I don't see that he's all that intelligent but, even if he is, I'd rather have Sarah Palin as VICE president than a socialist PRESIDENT that will stand with Islam against America.

    • Posted By: DoRight @ 09/22/2008 12:57:36 PM

      It's not an argument to simply say 'read his book.' You have to first define what you mean by 'socialism,' second say what you have against it and why, and third quote specific passages from his book to make your point. Otherwise....

      • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 09/22/2008 6:48:51 PM

        Socialism: From each according to his ability to create and pay, to each according to his need, all receive equal allotments regardless of the effort and skill and ability they exhibit.

        So why work? People don't work if they are going to get the same thing no matter what they do. It is why Russia failed.

        Competition and risk/reward work to make our culture and society better. Should we take care of the poor and weak and sick and elderly? Yes, but that does not require redistribution of wealth, the way Obama proposes, raising taxes on the "rich" (40 to 50% of their income isn't enough, they need to be patriotic and pay 60 or 70% of their income in taxes) so he can give money to the middle class.

        That is socialism.

        • Posted By: Young Hickory @ 09/23/2008 11:14:05 AM

          Socialism means the collectivization of and redistribution of wealth. Right now Bush has committed a billion dollars our taxpayer wealth to be collected and redistributed to corporations who failed in the free market. The CEOs of those companies made stupid mistakes and in a system that was truly competitive they would pay the price but Bush is bailing them out. Bush is the worst kind of Socialist because he is robbing the poor to pay the rich. The kind of socialism you described at least tries to rob the rich to pay the poor. What Bush has done is the biggest socialist power grab in history. You forget that right wingers can be socialist too. Nazi stood for nationalistic socialism. I can find no better term to describe Bush policies than nationalistic socialism.

    • Posted By: KateR @ 09/22/2008 1:57:14 PM

      Mr. Obama has written more than one book & I have read all of them -- twice. I do not recall any passage in which he says that he would "stand with his Muslim brothers." Please give me a title and page reference for this statement. Otherwise, I will suspect that you are following Palin's lead by being both spectacularly misinformed AND economical with the truth.

    • Posted By: fccFH @ 09/22/2008 12:25:58 PM

      I have read it, and you are taking what he actually said and twisting it into something that is only a fabrication from your mind. Find a real argument then come back onto this site.

    • Posted By: Young Hickory @ 09/22/2008 12:21:52 PM

      While you are blogging, right now, the government is undergoing the most massive socialist expansion EVER. This is George W Bush taking over the financial sector. This sector has more profits than healthcare and oil combined. Can you imagine the outcry if a democratic president decided to nationalize either health care or the oil industry. Bush is doing the equivalent of nationalizing BOTH and McCain agrees with him. Wake up! Bush and McCain are socialists even though they would deny it with their last lying breaths!

  • Posted By: dsqard @ 09/23/2008 9:48:59 AM

    Welcome all to the dumbing down of America. Since when did it become "elite" to get a good education and to be intelligent. I am not commenting on who may or may not be intelligent in this election, I just don't understand why it is "snobbish" to be educated. I thought that we valued that as Americans. How are we going to get out of this financial category 5 hurricane without intelligent people? I grew up in the northeast and I was always lead to believe that elite meant very rich and privaleged. The people who seem to fit that definition closer would be statistically Republicans.

  • Posted By: jwaldrop3 @ 09/22/2008 10:44:40 AM

    I guess that the 143 days that Obama had in the Senate before he started running for president makes him experienced enough to be president? HA!!

    • Posted By: fccFH @ 09/22/2008 11:05:15 AM

      There has been more to his career than just those 143 days- please look into it. And let???s not forget the simple fact that Obama is also smarter than she is. Now I understand that this subject has become taboo and has been called elitist- fine call me an elitist. But we have to let go of this- intelligence is a factor that is needed to be counted in this race. I want a President and a Vice President who have interacting and have been conscious of foreign leaders and issues for more than three days- I want someone who doesn???t sincerely think that being neighbor???s with Russia counts as foreign experience. Sara Palin may be a small town woman, but that does not mean she understands the issues plaguing all small towns throughout America. Alaska has a very small population and has been able to ride on large subsidies and oil money, so their small town issues are probably much different than those of say Nebraska. I want a leader who sees that our health care system has failed the public, and will offer a change (regardless of their experience with this issue- at least they understand that change is needed and what can be done to help desperate Americans). I want a leader who sees that our education system has failed and will propose a change for this country. And I want a leader who sees that turning a blind eye to Wall Street and allowing everyone to act irresponsibly has had an extraordinarily detrimental impact on our livelihood and our future, and again, will not continue the mentality that if we allow Wall Street to do more of the same, things will just work themselves out. Great, McCain has had eons of experience, and has often voted alongside Bush, landing us in this horrific mess that is now America. Experience should not determine the outcome of this race- simple intelligence is what is needed in the White House.

      • Posted By: pearsoncrz @ 09/22/2008 6:50:47 PM

        What makes you think he is smarter than her? Just because he went to Harvard? What were his grades like in college? Why won't he let us see his transcript?

        Obama isn't all that. He hasn't reached across the aisle to do anything. He hasn't even given his own money to charities, but he wants to make others give their money to the poor.

        • Posted By: fccFH @ 09/23/2008 9:48:37 AM

          Just to clear things up, he graduated from Columbia for his undergraduate degree, his graduate law degree is from Harvard, where, since you asked about grades, he graduate magna *** laude, and in case you don???t know what that means- pretty freaking good grades. If you are magna a transcript is irrelevant as your status shows to people that you received straight A???s.

          Your other point is such a preprogrammed response. And it does tie back to his intelligence. His proposals for how to grow this country, or at this juncture, pull it out of the mess the Bush administration has created, are far more feasible and practical than what McCain is offering. I am talking about regulating business in the financial sector, creating a health care system that will enable every person access to proper medicine, an education system that actually teaches our students rather than trains them to test, and international relation experience that goes a bit further than I can see Russia from Alaska. And please remember, this is not a comparison between Obama and Palin- McCain is the one running for President. I was not only focusing on her, but I have tremendous concern for his ability as well. And you wan charity- how much has McCain contributed- other than to his own auto collection? And also, you want records- why won???t Palin speak to any press member, release her job related emails, or open up her administration to the press? I have extreme concern that she will be just another Cheney.

      • Posted By: paproudmom @ 09/22/2008 1:48:36 PM

        I was going to reply until someone in my office reminded me to not waste my time responding to a fool.

        • Posted By: fccFH @ 09/22/2008 2:24:46 PM

          Do you always do and believe what someone else tells you. And by the way, you did respond. Come back with a real argument- fool.

    • Posted By: son_shine @ 09/22/2008 10:50:12 AM

      So what's the alternative? Do tell.

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