It's ironic that some people were calling Barack Obama an elitist. I don't think he chose his words well in saying some people cling to guns or religion, but I don't think the poor son of a single mother who brought himself to where he is today is what we consider a member of the elite (at least in the pejorative sense of that word). He's a member of an elite group if we are talking about being a hard worker, intelligent, articulate and compassionate.
I think it would be fair to say John McCain is a member of an elite group by accident of birth and subsequently by marriage. John McCain's great grandfather was a Mississippi plantation owner, his grandfather was a Navy Admiral, his father was a Navy Admiral and commander of the Pacific Fleet.
I tend to identify with people who worked their way to where they are. I have no idea what it would be like to be a kid on a Navy base, or a Navy officer, who's dad and grandpa are Admirals, but I do know what it's like to be raised by a single mom, and I know a little about what it's like to be in the Navy as an enlisted person. The military is a very different place depending on your place - officer or enlisted.
How you view the military (and what you want from the military) also depends on whether you make the military a career, or if you are in for a hitch or two. A career military person doesn't have a need for the GI bill to help them go to school or buy a house, or V.A. hospitals to go to when they need medical care - at least while they are in the military.
No one would argue that John McCain made a tremendous sacrifice for his country, but one thing (among many) that troubles me about John McCain's politics is his record on supporting Veterans
Matthew Yglesias (May 25, 2008) - McCain and Veterans (Foreign Policy)
Obsidian Wings: McCain On Veterans' Benefits
Could it be that if your grandfather is John S. McCain, Sr. Navy Admiral and son of a Mississippi Plantation owner, and father is John S. McCain, Jr. Navy Admiral and Commander of the Pacific Fleet, and your wife's income in 2006 was $6,066,063 (six mil in 2006)...that you lose touch with what our country owes the people who serve in the military today and come from homes where the average income is $35,000?
Hope not...
