Elitist Obama?

Elite, n. 1. The best or most skilled members of a given social group. 2. A small and privileged group.
American Heritage Dictionary, c 198
This morning’s guest on Meet the Press was Joe Biden. The interview with Tom Brokaw was generally unremarkable because Brokaw threw him some pretty soft pitches but one thing did come up that’s been the topic of other conversations and articles, to wit, the appearance of ‘elitism’ in Barack Obama. Just yesterday I read an article in a news magazine that suggested this issue might be a problem for Obama. These are just the latest in a long-running series that pops up from time to time.
The idea that someone in American politics might be among the ‘elite’ suggests they are arrogant snobs who tend to look down on the rest of ‘us’ (that would be YOU, certainly not me). It’s been said by numerous political pundits that the American people wouldn’t be happy with anyone unless they’re like us (actually YOU, not me). But let’s be clear about something: who exactly do you think it is that wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution???? The ‘Elite Class”, that’s who! Does this country really want someone who isn’t ‘the best or most skilled member of a given social group’? I certainly don’t and if that means they act a little ‘uppity’ from time to time, oh well. As far as I’m concerned this whole thing gets down to the anti intellectual, anti education element of this country. All you need to do is look at the present administration for evidence of this. No one has shown more contempt or been more dismissive of the world of Science than Bush & Cheney. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. Why do you suppose it is that teachers, generally better educated than the general public, are among the lowest paid professionals in this country but not abroad? So if Obama is ‘elite’, good. We need more people like him, not fewer.