Staying Ahead of the Curve

Hillary Clinton (net worth: $34.9 million) and John McCain (net worth: $40.9 million) have been busy lately calling Barack Obama an "elitist" who is "out of touch," based upon some willfully misinterpreted comments he made the other day. Was he saying that the *only* reason people believe in their religions and protect their Second Amendment rights is because they're a bunch of bitter curmudgeons (as Hillary is now asserting)? Of course not. He was simply saying that people are cynical about the two parties on economic issues, and that politicians exploit wedge issues (such as God, guns, gays, immigration and trade) in its place.

What makes the "out of touch" and "elitist" comments particularly ridiculous is the fact that they're coming from Clinton and McCain. Clinton is a former corporate attorney, Wal-Mart board member, and the wife of a very successful politician. McCain is the son of a Admiral, and the husband to a millionaire heiress. Obama, on the other hand, is the son of a goat-herder and a single mother, who made his way through Harvard on a scholarship and returned to Chicago as a community organizer. He only recently broke the $1 million mark when his book sales exploded. So it's ridiculous on its face for these two to try to paint him as some wealthy elitist who doesn't have the public's best interests in mind.

But Bob Cesca has a good idea on how to counter the inevitable "Obama is an elitist" blitz.

On Monday, the talk radio wingnuts will be all over Senator Obama -- calling him an elitist snob. So let's prepare a counterattack. We need to call their shows and politely blitz them with the following simple question.

"When was the last time you mowed your own lawn, [fill in name of host]?"

Sean Hannity Show:
1-800-941-SEAN(7326)

Rush Limbaugh Show:
1-800-282-2882
E-mail: ElRushbo@eibnet.com
FAX: 212-445-3963

Radio Factor (O'Reilly)
1-877-9-NO-SPIN

Mike Hussein Gallagher
Call: 800-655-MIKE
Fax: 800-821-MIKE

Michael Medved
1-800-955-1776

Laura Ingraham
1-800-876-4123

Don't try to contact the show until it actually goes on the air. And be polite

UPDATE: All this "Obama is an elitist" rhetoric seems to be failing. CNN and Pat Robertson's CBN both are calling this out as a silly misrepresentation. I don't care much for either news organization, but it's a good sign that neither one was taken in by this one. No doubt Sean Hannity and others will make a big deal over this (just as he did with his misrepresentation of Michelle Obama's "proud" remarks), so you should all still call in. But I think that most of the people who are actually paying attention to this race can see these "silly season" remarks for what they really are.

UPDATE II: Obama responds here


UPDATE III: The Jed Report has compiled a video montage of this ridiculousness


UPDATE IV: Americans