'Citizens of NASCAR, We Come In Peace!'

Headline via Andy Borowitz in late 2004, Photoshop via this post in September; a reminder that the red states really are an alien nation for urban elites who would seek to govern them:

Bridging the gulf between Bobos in Paradise and Bitter Clingers in the hinterlands, you’re doing it wrong:

Boldly going where no member of their party has ever gone before, key Democratic Party leaders embarked today on an historic fact-finding mission to NASCAR.

The NASCAR visit, the first ever undertaken by Democratic officials, took place only after party leaders devoted several months of research to determine precisely what NASCAR was.

“Once we learned that NASCAR involved cars and racing, and apparently had millions of fans, we looked at each other and said, ‘We must learn more,'” said DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe.

— “Democrats Embark on Fact-Finding Mission to NASCAR,” humorist Andy Borowitz, Newsweek, December 13, 2004.

“Fucking Nascar retards.”

— Eric Alterman, on the JournoList, November 7th, 2008.

President Obama: Some of My Best Friends My Staff Are NASCAR Fans.

— Headline at Fox News, today, along with video of Obama saying, “‘We got some of my staff who are big racing fans who are here.’ Obama said, who mentioned that some members of Congress attended the event who were also racing fans,” when Obama welcomed NASCAR Spring Cup champion Tony Stewart and his crew to the White House on Tuesday. At the Tatler, Bridget Johnson adds:

The president noted the No. 14 car parked on the South Lawn. “Every year I try to take a lap; nobody lets me do it,” he said. “But I am still holding out hope that, at some point, I’m going to be able to get behind the wheel.”

Chatting a bit about various racers, Obama added, “Underneath the helmets, behind all the trash talking — and I notice it seems to be picking up quite a bit lately — these are some outstanding men.”

He congratulated the NASCAR drivers for their work with military families and wounded soldiers.

“Thanks to everybody at NASCAR for what you do for our country,” Obama said. “Thank you for not tearing up my grass.”

To paraphrase Scott Brown, it’s the people’s grass, champ, not yours. And petulantly claiming that nobody lets you hop into a race car — Teddy Roosevelt (and heck your immediate predecessor) are having a good chuckle at that one.