Tuesday, October 7, 2008
An Oct. 7 column titled “How narrow victories will pile up for McCain” had many misleading statements and some that were just plain untrue.
First is this talk of Barack Obama as an elitist. Let’s compare the candidates past and present and decide who the elitist is. Obama grew up with a single mother and was on food stamps for much of his life. He worked hard and put himself through school and law school at prestigious institutions. Until he wrote his first book and gave his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he and his wife were paying off student loans. Instead of taking a high paying job right out of Harvard law school, he moves to a lower income community in Chicago and becomes a very successful community organizer and motivate people to get involved in improving their community. He owns one house, and his family has one car — a hybrid.
John McCain grew up rebelling and not doing well in school and got into the naval academy on legacy. He served our country admirably in Vietnam — nobody disputes that. He had an affair after his first wife was badly hurt in a car accident, and then he divorces her for his current wife, who has a huge family beer fortune. Neither he nor his wife know how many houses they own. (For the record, it’s seven.) They own 13 cars. They didn’t pay taxes on their beachfront condo in La Jolla, Calif., for four years and then paid the minimum on it to avoid it going into default.
McCain gets full disability benefits, $75,000 per year. He does deserve some disability pay although he is not hurting for money, but not full disability pay. The government has people getting disability pay followed to see whether they are getting their own groceries and will then cut their pay, but McCain takes well documented hikes and talks about how active he is. He says the middle-class consists of people who make $5 million per year or less. Not only does he have no clue about the average American, but he also wants to give more tax breaks to the wealthiest and the big corporations on Wall Street and the oil companies.
McCain’s latest political stunt was this joke about suspending his campaign to go work on a bailout. What happened after he became the Republican nominee? He did not show up to the Senate for three months and missed more than 300 votes in a row. What happened to serving the American people? Elitism is a lifestyle, and McCain’s lifestyle reflects it in every way. He is completely out of touch with mainstream America and has no idea about how people are hurting.
When calling Obama an elitist, think again. Just because he is running on the Democratic party’s ticket does not make him an elitist. These unfounded personal attacks need to stop.
— — Matt Erickson is a junior from Eden Prairie, Minn.
Poole: How narrow victories will pile up ...
Evaluating presidential platforms
Obama and McCain differ on three major points during campaign.
Hirschfeld: It’s not always bad to be ...
The Iraq War
The two candidates offer different views on the Iraq War.
Disappointment sets in for Republican supporters
GOP election watch parties break up early as Barack Obama defeats John ...
Professor to give lecture on campaign ads
The lecture will cover Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s campaign advertisements and ...
Cohen: Debates didn’t show us anything new
Editorial: Why students should vote for Obama
The Kansan editorial board's endorsement
Minster: McCain’s blundering demonstrates effective PR
When faced with allegations of impropriety, McCain feels it’s easier to ban ...
Kansan bloggers' take on the prolonged primaries
Joshua Anderson, Andy Greenhaw and Kelsey Hayes discuss the ramifications of the ...
Cohen: Sarah Palin who?
What was Sen. John McCain thinking when he chose the Alaskan governor?
Poole: Republicans' VP pick shattered the mold
By choosing Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain proved that he is ...
Two sides of healthcare
Health insurance is one of the major issues this year.
Three counties vote in Republican caucus, Huckabee ...
A crowded, but successful, Republican caucus brought hundreds of voters from three ...
Minster: Party does not recognize Republican principles
Republicans used to think government should allow citizens to be responsible for ...
Thompson: How the culture of fear relates ...
Dole speaks at RNC event
The former senator and presidential candidate backs McCain, slams Obama
Minster: Republican caucus: tiger cages, scripture and ...
The gist of things: A prisoner of war, a pious politician and ...
Montemayor: Dire straits in the next week ...
Voters may not turn out
Even the historical nature of this year's election may not be enough ...
Letter: Palin insulting to women’s causes
Sen. Brownback addresses RNC delegates
He says Gov. Sebelius would lose Senate race for his seat, endorses ...
Electoral Count: Obama projected to win presidency
Obama currently has 338 electoral votes. McCain has 156.
Cohen: Dems’ indecision may cost them
The DNC needs to sort out the nomination, or it may regret ...
Brinker: Lack of experience hurts Herman Cain
Herman Cain uses his lack of political history too often to be ...
Obama’s ‘flip-flop’ doesn’t deter supporters
The Democratic Presidential nominee opts out of public financing, becoming the first ...
Montemayor: Politics is a dangerous game
The Olympics and UFC have nothing on the 2008 presidential election.
Student delegate details Democratic Convention
Clarissa Unger has spent time across the country campaigning for Barack Obama.
A new species on the loose at ...
A Q&A with Gov. Kathleen Sebelius
Kansas' governor discusses the issues.
Biden says he and Obama ‘share a ...
Barack Obama and Joe Biden were officially named the Democratic presidential and ...
Armstrong: The election is over
The influences behind KU students’ votes
Political affiliations and candidate reputations are likely to affect students when they ...
Daldorph: KU campus and the city need ...
What happens on the streets of Lawrence affects us all, whether we ...
Edwards, Giuliani abandon race
Democrat John Edwards and Republican Rudy Giuliani have dropped out of the ...
Web site attracts students for Obama stencils
Students visit yeswecarve.com, a non-Obama affiliated Web site, for Obama-o-lanter stencils.
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
I dispute his record in nam. He's a failure and a shame to our great nation, and should commit seppuku at the first opportunity.
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
Obama and the members of his fan club think people in small town America are stupid rednecks that cling to their guns and religion. That's how/why I call him an elitist.
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
"Obama grew up with a single mother and was on food stamps for much of his life. He worked hard and put himself through school and law school at prestige institution" Actually, he lived with his grandparents.
"He did not show up to the Senate for three months and missed more than 300 votes in a row. " Want to look at Obama's voting record? Or the Senate committees he's part of or heading and HAS YET to show up for in his ENTIRE time in the Senate?
John McCain earned his disability pay in the service. Service-related injuries are dictated by Cqongress to be paid at a certain rate. That rate is partly dependent on the severity of the injuries and partly on the rank held. Don't critisize him for that pay. He earned it.
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
Calling McCain a rebel and Obama perfect is unfair. Obama admittedly did hardcore drugs while he was in high school and slacked off - even in college. Use some cognitive thinking. Anyone can repeat facts from attack ads and other propaganda.
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
As Mike said, I think the main reason that people say Obama is an elitist is because of what he said about people in small town clinging to "guns and religion."
Let's quit equating wealth with elitism, please. I know plenty of people who are not so well off who consider themselves members of high society because they are artistic, etc. I also know a few individuals with extreme wealth who you might mistake for Joe Six Pack if you saw them on the street.
I think I'm speaking for more than just myself when I say that I am getting very sick of this class warfare crap.
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
The following essay by David Hardy may mean very little to some people, but it helps illuminate Obama's credentials as both an elitist and an opponent of personal liberty.
The document is too long to post in its entirety, so please refer to the link below.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/obama-and-the-attempt-to-destroy-the-second-amendment/
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
joe six pack... how do republicans come up with this crap....
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
Agreed. True conservatives know the true face of AMERICA, Jim 24-pack.
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
Joe Biden is an Elitist.
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
I take it you must have spent five years in a POW camp too, since you seem to know how people are supposed to act after that? I know the last thing I would feel like doing is public service. He deserves a nod for that, even Obama has said that.
Letter: How can you call Barack Obama an elitist?
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID