politicalreacharound:
If I may offer my opinion: I don’t believe it is the elite per se that people have a problem with. Rather it is the unsettling arrogance of some of the elite.
There is a strong desire in traditional Americans to believe in the ideal of the equality of all people. Implied in that ideal is the recognition that all people are flawed, and that no one, no matter how talented or brilliant, is infallible.
Coupled with that view is the American tradition to revolt against the idea of an elite aristocracy that lords over them, thinks for them, and controls their lives. This tradition comes from our forefathers, who were themselves elite, but not elitist; and who designed a system which attempts to limit the power of any one group of inherently flawed people over others. They knew first hand about the tyranny of the elite. It can be just as ugly as mob rule.
I don’t believe any thinking American equates education with elitism. Most sensible people look to education as a way out of poverty, and a way to improve their standard of living. But thoughtful people also know that education, even an Ivy League one, does not equal wisdom.
Therefore, a politician who can exhibit the talent and drive one expects from one of the elite, tempered with enough humility to demonstrate that he knows that deep down he is another one of us flawed humans, will traditionally tend to be favored over one who gives off the “do you know who I am” vibe.
