Obama and elitism

Of all the charges levelled at Barack Obama during the primary campaign, none had the sticking power of the allegation that he was "elitist". Obama himself did much to facilitate this, notably when he claimed that Republicans cling to "guns and God" out of bitterness, but also on other occasions. As a result, Obama is having far more trouble than he ought to winning over blue-collar males, one of the major floating demographics.

This is perhaps surprising, given the nature of the election. John McCain is, together with his wife, worth around $40,000,000. He is an admiral's son who married an heiress, and doesn't know how many homes he owns. Barack Obama, on the other hand, is the son of a dirt-poor Kenyan immigrant, who experimented with drugs and alcohol in his youth, and is worth only approximately $1,300,000, a fraction of McCain. Whereas McCain, for the past three decades, has been involved in Washington, Obama has worked firstly as a community worker, before teaching law.

However, despite their differing backgrounds, McCain connects with blue-collar males far more easily than Obama does. His military background, as well as his torture at the hands of the North Vietnamese, appeal to this group, many of whom are veterans of the Armed Forces. In addition, McCain comes across as empathising better with their problems, and his character, of the hard-headed tough guy, is much more appealing than Obama's more nuanced personality.

Quite clearly, the charge of Obama being elitist is spurious, but it has a lot of credibility. Given that, in all likelihood, the working-class male vote will be a deciding factor, particularly in Rust Belt Ohio and Pennsylvania, Obama must work harder at convincing them that he is one of them, and shares their aspirations, as well as their fears. By rights, it should be easy. However, given that in the primary he couldn't shake the charge of elitism made by Hillary Clinton, whose wealth was such that she could lend her campaign $11,000,000, most of it donated when it was obvious that she would not be the nominee, Obama patently has yet to do enough, and if anything sinks his campaign, it will be the fact that floating voters related to McCain more than they do to him.