Isn't being a Maverick in essence an elitist distinction or at the very least a somewhat elitist disposition?

To be fair, McCain *did* say he knew where they lived. Because he's been to their houses for dinner!

All of their nonsense aside, McCain just said he knows where elitists live because he lived there.

I know logic isn't his strong suit, but doesn't that make him, uh...elite?

"Hard-working, middle-class Americans who are so desiring of this economy getting put back on the right track. And winning these wars. And America's starting to reach her potential."

Good God, this woman is illiterate. "...who are so desiring..."

Please, send her back to Alaska with a one-way ticket.

Elitists are those who want to tell people how to live; so people who want to deny choice and enforce their beliefs would be elitists? Thanks to the Republican ticket for clearing that up.

I lived in the DC area for a couple years. I don't recall attending a single cocktail party.

How many DC cocktail parties you been to, John?

BTW, has McCain returned a single campaign contribution b/c it came from an "elitist"?

Oh John, still doing the whole "trust me, I know about x, everybody knows I knows about x, because everybody knows me. And you know I just hate x.

but honestly, does it not seem to anybody that this team is campaigning on auto-pilot recently? It's like they realize that the numbers aren't moving their way, and that it's highly likely nothing will get them to. The clips they showed from the Williams interview last night didn't look tense, it looked resigned - like they've stopped trying to impress anyone.

"Who think that they can dictate what they believe to America rather than let Americans decide for themselves."

I guess that would be James Dobson and other such agents of intolerance.

Sorry, I just want to say:

Fuck you, you old piece of shit who married into money. And fuck your little Barbie Doll too. The sooner both of you are out of the public eye, the better.

Oh, and one more thing: fuck you both. And fuck the Republican party. Oh, that was 2 things.

"I'll be very frank with you. Who think that they can dictate what they believe to America rather than let Americans decide for themselves."

Doesn't McCain realize he just described the entire GOP base as elitists?

"I know where a lot of 'em live," McCain added with a laugh.

"Where's that?" Williams asked.

"Well, in our nation's capital and New York City," McCain replied.

Good thing Al Qaeda took out so many elites on 9/11 then, leaving "real Americans" to suffer huh?

What a cretinous asshole McCain is.

Well, "elite" is anyone who might at any time be a liberal or a Democrat, or act like it. Actual elites have nothing to fear.

Traveling at taxpayer expense with your family on multiple junket/boondoggles is of course --not-- elite behavior. Just as they manage and pay for their own sartorial affairs, the "elite" don't need to bamboozle taxpayers into paying for their children to stay the Ritz. Thus the "elite" do not need to go back and alter public records to hide their activities, a trashy activity, not to mention being a kind of petty fraud. It would seem that being "elite" is at least in part a matter of superior personal responsibility. So, it's true, Sarah is not elite, despite the wardrobe.

When is the last time either one of them applied for food stamps, or stood in a greyhound bus line for tickets, or paid 50 cents to go into a public restroom to take a shit, or sat in the middle seat in a coach class airplane, or wondered how they are going to pay next months rent, or been waiting in an er room with a sick baby for 20 fucking hours without even being noticed, or had to determine how many pills not to take today cause they can't afford the medicine anymore, or had to sleep on a snowy street in the middle of winter cause of being homeless only to be kicked by some pig cop ? fuck'um .. just fuck these secretions out of the asshole of lucifer himself ... cause that's all they are

This is all true, but do not omit the fact that McInsane is a child of privilege. It is most certainly not somehting he lucked into in adulthood. While his family may not have been extremely wealthy, being the son and grandson of vice-admirals does have its privileges.

I wonder if they'll disband elite military units if they're elected.

No more SEALS, no more Delta...

I also bet they'll ban major league baseball and only broadcast little league games, who would want to watch the elite play baseball.

We'll have a lottery for our olympic teams...

A primary definition of elite includes "The best or most skilled members of a group" --as in
'the football's team elite'.

Since when is elite a derogatory term?

When it's used that way, when it's linked to and attached in a distorted way. Such as:

elite liberal
elite media
elite washingtonians, elite Hollywood types, etc.

Elite has become some sort of code for dangerous, for terrorist, for liberal, for socialist--it's all the same.

Elite is not Bad!! Elite is good!! I want an elite president--please?!

How dare McCain say "I know where they live"???!! It's the same thing as Palin saying that those in one section of the country are more pro-American than those in others...it's the same preposterous stereotype and slander and bigotry.

I wonder if Sarah spotted any elites at Neiman Marcus.

Having destroyed 4+ Jet aircraft, I can see why McCain rails against 'Elitists'. Heck, lets have more non-elite pilots like McCain flying our fighter aircraft!!

The "elites" are in DC and NYC, huh? HMMMMM, what happened in those "not real America" places a few years ago? It was in all the papers.... It excused our current administration's illegal invasion of a sovereign nation and ass-fucking of the Constitution... So I guess he's saying that only the elite not-real-America was attacked on the Thedaythatchangedeverything.

There are two kinds of people in this world!

1] Those elitist scumbags who think they're better than everybody else.

And 2] Everybody else.

Uh...wait a minute...I had it before...

Shit!

Wonder how many cocktail party invitations Johnny's going to get this season.

Hell, Washington DC is McCain's hometown. The Son of an Admiral grew up there, with very little time living anywhere else. He's spent about 80% of his life in DC. He moved briefly to Arizona after his second marriage in order to establish residence for his run for Congress, then promptly moved back to DC.

And, irony of ironies, he is right that the elitists try to dictate to the rest of the country. People like David Brooks and Tom Friedman. You know, MCCAIN'S BASE. And MCCAIN IS ONE OF THEM.

@Breezeblock
You Forgot
And fuck the private jet you flew into town on you average Joe Motherfucker

So McCain doesn't think he's better than anyone else.

Well than why the heck should we elect him President over someone else?

"Who think that they can dictate what they believe to America rather than let Americans decide for themselves."

So the one in four Americans who want to outlaw abortion in all circumstances because of their religious belief, are they elitist?

So the 35% (or so) who want the status quo health care system because they believe that universal health care is bad will continue to force, are they elitist?

Virtually every part of the Republican platform polls out at less than 50%. Who is "dictat[ing] what they believe to America rather than let[ting] Americans decide for themselves"?

(((Billy))) The Atheist
http://iambilly.wordpress.com

Elites never go on a $150,000 shopping spree at Niemen Marcus like the common folk do.

MeLoseBrain? a small correction:

"...the son and grandson of vice-admirals does have its privileges."

Actually it is the son of four star Admirals, who were in charge of entire fleets and have naval bases named after them,

Hold on now, they have a point.

Two millionaires living off the public teat and spousal money, blaming everyone else for their troubles, badly educated, narcissists railing about those politicians and money boys in DC and NY, both adulterers, both petty, vindictive assholes. Take away the money and the Hanoi Hilton and its trailer park trash all the way down.

Elites they are not.

"You think you're better 'n me" is pure loser talk, something you often hear coming out of the substance-impaired mouth of someone with anger problems who just can't ever seem to catch a break and thinks it has nothing to do with his or her own behavior. It's a direct appeal to the nation's chronic fuckups.

And as I have noted in these threads before, "Georgetown cocktail circuit" is a phrase stolen directly from Richard Nixon. The difference is that Nixon really didn't go to those parties and McCain has spent a quarter century running from one to the next.

Too be fair, I do not think Sarah Palin meets the standard definition of "elite" in any sense.

New York City. A veritable "ground zero" of unAmerican elitism.

"Oh, I guess just people who think that they're better than anyone else.... So anyone who thinks that they are -- I guess -- better than anyone else, that's -- that's my definition of elitism," Palin replied. [...]

Huh. My definition of elitism is people who can spend $150,000 on high-end luxury clothes in the space of two months.

But c'mon, "Oh, I guess just people who think that they're better than anyone else"??? Is she still in high school...cancel that, junior high school? This is the classic "you're stuck up 'cuz you think you're so much better'n anybody else" I'd expect to hear from a 13 year old Mean Girl, not a major party vice-presidential candidate.

Kudos to Brian Williams. It's actually a pretty clever question. As always, he lets go too early instead of pressing some pretty obvious openings, but "elitist" is a term that these two have mangled into meaninglessness. Their complete inability to answer with anything other than empty platitudes exposes the utter vacuity of this "elitism" angle.

"Good God, this woman is illiterate. "...who are so desiring...""

Hey she's getting better,at least she didn't say..... "all those pro-Americans who are desiring also this economy, I think then again too, those hungry Americans, because that's what John and I stand for also".

Sally Quinn a D.C. socialite?

You belittle her!

She's nothing less than the St. Peter of the D.C. socialites.

You write, "Second, for all the talk McCain offers about "cocktail parties in Georgetown," let's not forget that he's been a frequent guest at these fancy soirees."

Nah. The real action is on the boats and in the islands. Didn't McCain go on Bahama vacations with a guy named Keating? Aren't there pictures of him on a yacht owned by some wealthy guy and his Hollywood starlet?

And don't we now know that Palin's rise owes a lot to a couple of Conservative cruise-ship tours to Alaska by the Weekly Standard/National Review types and their groupies?

Of course, there are elites and then there are ... uh ... well, not-elite somethings.

Is it elitist to think you are better than elitists? McCain just went meta on his own ass.

"I know where a lot of them live" (teheehee)

and Sedona, and Kennebunkport, and Crawford, and Coronado Island, the Arizona Biltmore, Salt Lake City, and, and, and...

GAWD - the incrdibly shrinking hero!

So, Rudy, McCain says your town is elitist. Since the Yankees didn't make it to the World Series this year, you care to correct him?

Joe the Plumber makes $44,000 a year. Palin spent more than three years of Joe's salary on clothes in three months. Ms. Main Street Hockey Mom spends a lot of time and money on Fifth Avenue.

Sarah Vowell put it well on the Daily Show:

If New York City and Washington DC were American enough for Al Qaeda to attack, then they should be American enough for the Republican ticket.

City where John McCain has done the most events in his 2008 Presidential campaign?

NEW YORK CITY! He LOOOOVES the elitists!

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/tracker/candidates/john-mccain/

I believe, no I think that Sarah is confusing politically correctness with "elite."

I do have a problem with most things PC, it basically annoys me that some folks think by doing certain things they are "superior" regardless of their social-economic status.

But then, Sarah and John are confused about a lot of stuff.

The elite of anything are simply the cream of the crop.

Sarah and John ain't elite, they're more like a highly perfumed-fake-hazel-nut-non-dairy creamer.

Ya add their powdered stuff to yer coffee in hopes that it'll taste better, forgetting that the brew itself is downright awful.

Why didn't Williams ask, "Senator, you are a multi-millionaire, you own, by your own admission, seven houses and thirteen cars, you have been a US Senator for 24 years, and you are currently the Republican nominee for President of the United States. Can you honestly say that you are not a member of the elite of this country?"

Oh, wait. Brian Williams. Right. That explains why that question went unasked.

It's the hypocrisy, stupid!

Hey she's getting better,at least she didn't say..... "all those pro-Americans who are desiring also this economy, I think then again too, those hungry Americans, because that's what John and I stand for also".

Bwa ha ha! Perfect imitation.

mr. shortstop and I have taken to frequently putting the words "also" and "too" and "again" in inappropriate places in our converse as a tribute to the Language Queen.

"I know where a lot of 'em live," McCain added with a laugh. "...in our nation's capital and New York City"

Hmm... Isn't that what al Qaeda was thinking? What next? Flying planes into buildings? Actually, with McCain's record as a pilot, it's not that far fetched...

The life of John McCain:

Grandson of an Admiral
Son of an Admiral
Midshipman at the Naval Academy
Pilot in the Navy
POW son of an Admiral
Heroic former POW
Son in law of a wealthy family
Congressman
Senator
Presidential Nominee

That's not an elite life?
Words have no meaning, anymore.

One question I'd like to see answered is how the Palins got to be millionaires. Any info on that? Was there an inheritance? Or is "snow machine" racing as lucrative as NASCAR?

Book 'em all Dano

That this question was even asked is an indictment of McCain's campaign.
That these two candidates even tried to answer it is proof of their guilt.
That these three people could sit there and discuss this as if it is a credible topic is shameful.

Crikey.

You'd think the whole nation was stuck in 8th grade...

Letting Americans decide for themselves.

You all seem to forget that elitists are not American, therefore their opinions\votes shouldn't count when deciding issues like abortion and healthcare.

McCainiac logic.

So McCain's basic argument is that he is better than the elitists?

Probably the only way be consistent on this issue is to either not compare yourself to others where you imply that your opinion is better than theirs and thus you are better than them, or to admit that you are an elitist.

Modern political discourse now has all the nuance and subtlety of a Pace Salsa commercial.

Oh John, we understand your bad-mouthing us, and we know you'll be back to dine and drink with us again after your epic defeat.

I keep thinking about those elite firefighters in NYC who dug through the rubble for months looking for the remains of the victims. Guess they are not real Americans

Yep, I can just see Ol' Grumpy and Cindy sitting around the kitchen table clipping coupons and bagging up those Budweiser cans for recycling money. Humble folks, those McCains.

Modern political discourse now has all the nuance and subtlety of a Pace Salsa commercial.

Classic.

They've been pulling this crap for years. Remember 1988 when Michael Dukakis was elite next to that good ole boy George Herbert Walker "Poppy" Bush? And people bought it.

"People who think they're better than anyone else . . . "

OMFG. That is the kind of remark you hear on middle school playgrounds, and it usually means "you stuck up *&&&^, how dare you ace the exam I flunked?" But of course, Palin has made it abundantly clear that she does think fundamentalist Christians and small town conservatives are better than anyone else, and she's too stupid to see the irony in her own remarks. Send this girl to remedial 5th grade, and don't let her hang out with the "kewl kids" this time.

Take him at his word. He harbors disdain for many in his social circle.

"Elites" hell. This is blatant Jew-baiting.

"First, Palin just got finished telling voters that people in small towns are 'the best of America,' where people are 'patriotic' and 'pro-America,' and where 'we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans.' Sounds like 'elitism' to me."

Exactly right, Mr. Benen. Palin's whining petulance shows her as THE arrogant elitist par excellence, just like all her authoritarian, d'oh, conservative brethren. Good to see you lose the midwestern nicey-nice; more of precisely this kind of pushback, please.

The major plank of these anti-elitist's economic platform is maintaining/increasing tax breaks for the wealthy elite.

Im with you Breezeblock.
. . . and the horses they rode in on.

You know whats elitist?

The McCain's owning the plantation in Mississippi. Surrounded by black people named McCain, whom the senator says are no relation to him.

IMHO thats elitist.

but...
The really weird thing is that after the grandfather and father scrub the stain of confederate treason off the McCain name, McLies the III goes and destoys the name all over again voting for torture and running the dirtiest campaign in memory, which is really saying somehting.

Look, we're talking about a candidate who's been a Washington insider for a quarter of a century,

A quarter of a century in DC? Try his entire life. McCain didn't grow up in Arizona. He was the son of an Admiral working in the Pentagon. He attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria VA, the most elite boarding school in the DC area:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episcopal_High_School_(Alexandria)

The man was born a DC insider.

Don't forget, McCain grew up as the son of an admiral. In that strong community, there is no greater elite. He is an elitist through and through and it shows in his behavior and in his life choices. d

As John Stewart said ( you know that Elitist quasi NY Jew )

Fuck all y'all.

I guess terrorists only pick "elite" targets, so your cornholing silo in west bumblefuck is safe. And your 20 million dollar money pit Rec center in Wasilla as well.

You had me up until the last line:

"There's nothing especially wrong with any of this, except when he feels justified complaining about the 'elites.' "

No, actually, there is something especially wrong with it. Sure, McCain being a hypocrite and using "elitism" as a campaign wedge issue makes it worse. But part of the reason the country is so fucked up is that all of the candidates have been "elite" for so long.