April 15 at 11:55AM
Jon Stewart: Barack Obama Makes Elitism the New Liberalism
Jon takes a crack at the fallout of Barack's recent comments about Western Pennsylvanians:
Is elitism a problem for you? It's not like Americans have ever held a superiority complex.
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I live in Lancaster County, while not Western Pennsylvania, it still fits the stereotype pretty well. People here have always been conservative, and in the past ten years there has been a bigger push to embrace religion in this area. Most of this comes from those who see the hardships in their lives stemming from getting too far away from their God (my mother is one such person, she who used to drop us off at church and go back home to sleep has suddenly become the church lady, complete with her own portable bible). My father and brothers and many of my male neighbors get very defensive when the subject of gun control comes up, I swear their eyes twitch at the slightest suggestion that maybe not everyone should own a gun.
…and bitter, oh yeah, we have bitter down.
I am not personally seeing anything wrong with his statement, so far in my 36 years I have made the same observation. I live here, I should know. People in this area also have an issue with the truth. They don't like to hear it. They want the romanticized version or nothing at all.
As for Hillary and learning to shoot behind her grandfather’s shed, was that before or after the snipers in Bosnia? Oh, right she was a little girl, long before she embraced her pseudo-ethics, which allow her to produce ludicrous stories to serve any need along the campaign trail. Maybe it is sleep deprivation again. All those phone calls at 3 a.m. are already wearing her down. Yeah, that just who I want in the White house again.
Being a woman from rural PA, I did have to go hunting, I did have to learn to shoot guns, and yet, somehow I am not one bit offended by anything Mr. Obama has said. There must be something wrong with me.
Since when does political satire HAVE to be directed equally? The Daily Show goes for the laughs, and for whoever deserves them on any given night. Jon Stewart has never tried to be "fair & balanced". He's a die-hard liberal and unashamed of it-it's his show and he can direct it anyway he likes-It's COMEDY people, it's NOT A REAL NEWS SHOW!! Those that think it is or are influenced by it are just as pathetic as the ones that are influenced by these 30 sec clips taken out of context being shown on the "REAL" news programs. Yes, Jon Stewart appears to be an Obama fan-I'm sure as he soon as HE says or does something funny or genuinely hipocritical, it will make it's way on to The Daily Show.
I'm with Jon – I want a president who's smarter than the average bear. Senator Clinton or Senator Obama – either would do.
This is the best written piece I've seen. Well done, Daily Show.
To keep your elitist guy score-cards straight, Barack Obama is NOT the one who cheated on his wife of fifteen years and then walked out on her and his kids so he could marry a twenty-five year old multi-millionaire heiress just weeks after his divorce from his "old" wife was final. That would be John McCain. "Divorced in April — remarried in May. That's called getting things done, my friends." And Obama is NOT the one who turned eight years in the White House into a $109 million dollars in her personal bank account. That would be Hillary Clinton. So, of the three people who are presently vying for the office of President, the one who is being accused of being an "out of touch elitist" is the one candidate who didn't either marry into a nine figure personal fortune or parlay political access into a nine figure personal fortune.
Funny piece, but Jon's definition of elitist doesn't quite fit. The correct definition is more this: "The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources."
I am certainly with Jon in that you'll want someone really smart and with great judgement as President, but also one without the elitist traits. Bush's tax exemptions for the wealthy is a classic case of elitism. Obama is clearly the best choice, but I also think that if McCain were to change to the Democrat party, he'd be a decent candidate. Right now McCain seems to be pressured into politics by the Republicans that he doesn't really believe in.
Hillary has shown a complete lack of being able to handle adversity, and has shown a really ugly power hungry side of herself. Not good presidential material.
Reporter to Hillary: when did you last fire a gun or go to church?
Hillary: I don't think that's relevant to this election campaign.
Reporter to Hillary: When did you last make a derogatory racial inference about Obama?
Hillary: I can't be blamed for my husband or surrogates.
Reporter to Clinton: Why did you decide "elitist" was the word to use about your Democratic opponent, when you live in Westchester & earned $109 Million with your husband in the last 7 years?
Hillary: When Karl Rove said it was the smart thing to do.
Reporter: Did you think it was the right thing to do?
Hillary: There is no right & wrong, there is only power & those too weak to seize it.
Reporter: Uh… I think that's Voldemort.
Hillary: Voldemort is helping me on my campaign. Spiritually.
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are two of the only reasons we have cable because, as a poor rural family who does not cling to guns and religion, cable is not exactly a justifiable expense. I have been raising children with minimal resources for the better part of sixteen years, and I am bitter.
This bitterness has nothing to do with this recent economic downturn, though it has been increased dramatically. The bitterness is the direct result of watching poor single parents like myself and our families get marginalized by policy makers year after year.
The bitterness began during the Clinton administration and has continued since. Living below or around the poverty line is just not funny, I admit, but do you folks have to marginalize our realities, too? I have a handful of standard poor people jokes we use with each other behind closed doors, if you'd like some.
When I first became a single parent, I was hopeful about achieving some piece of the American dream on behalf of my kids, and I sought to overcome obstacles to get there. Most of the obstacles are behind me, yet the dream didn't get much closer. Now I'm tired of watching my kids go without, and what's worse is they are old enough to be growing tired of watching me go without even more, so they go without a little less. It's pathetic in a nation of such wealth.
I am especially distressed because we just marked the anniversary of Dr. King's death, and this commentary marginalized some of his greatest work as well. His words on poverty and economic injustice ring as true today as they did 40 years ago, but I guess they just don't have the commercial appeal the chosen handful of quotes have.
The last thing we need is another leader blinded by such disconnect. Personally, I think they narrowed the field way too early.