Why do Elitist Liberals Support Obama?

A few days ago, I heard famed nature writer and novelist Peter Mathiessen interviewed on the NPR show On Point with Tom Ashbrook . Since then, I haven’t been able to get what Matthiessen said out of my mind.

Peter Mathiessen’s first book The Snow Leopard won the 1979 National Book Award for nonfiction. He has written numerous other books, including novels and short stories. Matthiessen graduated from Yale and was a founder and editor of The Paris Review. Although he is 82, he certainly qualifies as a weathy, elitist liberal and member in good standing of the “creative class.”

I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that Matthiessen supports Barack Obama for President. But why does he support Obama? See if you can figure out why from this exerpt of his interview on NPR.

Conflucians Say: Grow where you’re planted

We’re coming into the home stretch and there’s a lot going on.  Has the financial crisis stabilized?  Has the word “racism” lost all meaning and what will happen after the election?  Why is Hillary Clinton like a flower that blooms only once?  And what the heck is going on in Iraq?  We don’t hear much from Iraq these days.  Did it disappear from the face of the earth- or just the face of the news?

Stay tuned for some of the answers to these ponderables tonight on Conflucians Say at 10PM EST on PUMA United Radio (PURrrr)

Feminism: It’s a Partnership Thing.

Partnership

In using Teh Google for an unrelated search, I came across an article by Dick Morris on September 13, 2008, and shockingly, he said something that I felt was worthy of mention. Yes. Dick Morris, he of toe-sucking, backstabbing fame, actually has held forth on “authentic” feminism – who’s got it, and who hasn’t. Surprise, surprise – Sarah Palin’s got it, but Hillary? Not so much.

Morris says that 2012 could be a historic election, because two women might be running for U.S. President for the first time ever – something I would, of course, be incredibly excited about. He goes on:

The 2008 US presidential election could force a realignment of how women vote, Mr Morris said.

“In Palin, you have an authentic model of feminism and in Hillary you have a counterfeit one.

“Even Hillary’s best friends agree that Hillary would not have been where she is if her husband had not been president. Palin’s worst enemies concede that Palin would be where she is no matter what her husband does.”

I won’t subject you to the rest of the article, which drips with Morris’ signature venom towards all things Hillary and Bill. (He “analyzes” Hillary’s voters in a particularly sickening way.) But isn’t that interesting? Dick Morris is suddenly a feminist, and he has apparently defined feminism to mean that any woman who has a well-known or accomplished husband, is not “authentic.” No, our little ladies have to make it all on their own, or they are Fake Feminists!!!

Well, I guess that leaves out Hillary. And Eleanor Roosevelt. And Lady Bird Johnson. And Dolly Madison. And Cindy McCain – her work in Rwanda and other war-torn places has got to be discounted because she inherited her wealth and married a well-known Senator. Right? 

Tuesday: Uncle Sam buys the banks

At $250 billion it’s probably a steal.  It looks like the stock markets around the world are responding favorably.  I hope my 401K fund managers snapped up some bargains during the low points.  Are we out of the woods yet?  Hard to tell.

Obama has come out with some proposals to help ordinary Americans weather the storm.  Funny, but he didn’t think some of these ideas were very good not too long ago.  For instance, his foreclosure freeze idea?  Umm, that was actually Hillary’s idea:

Back then, it was “disastrous” and a “fairy tale”.  It took him 7 months to drag him kicking and screaming to the same point.  Which makes me wonder, if we were going to end up with Hillary’s policies all along, why couldn’t we just have the real thing instead of some cheap knock off?

(H/T betuscha)