The New York Times reports that the wraiths behind the McCain campaign have launched a new effort to paint Obama as "out of touch" and - yes - "elitist." I liked the Times article on its face, and while I know it's a fool's errand to criticize journalists for not covering every last angle of a story, I have nevertheless been perplexed at the article's inability or unwillingness connect this McCain campaign rhetoric with either his own inadvertent recent demonstration of incredible out-of-touchness - "do a Google" and never having sent an email and all that - or with the towering elitism of his own adult life.
With respect to the former, one need only look at chronology to see that McCain's gaffes re. the internet and grocery-store prices have spurred this new attempt to slur Obama.
With respect to the former, more important, matter, it's a plain fact that McCain has lived his entire life in various elites, chosen and not. For instance, he has never been significantly employed by anybody but the federal government, whether as a pilot in the Navy or as a senator. And it's not like his campaign for president will suddenly make him into a member of the hoi polloi. Rather, he's aiming to enter one of the few groups of Americans more elite than the Senate: the roster of presidents. Why doesn't the paper of record point out the simple fact of the hypocrisy and plain old ridiculousness of McCain's stance here?