Posted by
Andrews on Monday, April 21, 2008 5:26:08 PM
I was reading an article on
Best of the Web, and surprisingly they missed something significant. Here is the quote from an
Obama defender:
The effect of that trap has been on a continuous loop in recent days,
following Barack Obama's ill-chosen remarks about bitter rural
Americans clinging to guns and religion. The takeaway, of course, is
that this sentiment proves once and for all that Obama is an elitist
fatally out of touch with the average American. But in deference to my
onetime dinner companion, let me ask this: Is he vulnerable to the
out-of-touch charge because he is an elitist, or because he is usually
(even if not in this case) comfortable with and in command of nuanced
ideas? Is he bashable because he's a snob or because he's an
intellectual?
What is interesting is the resurfacing of the word "nuance". It seems to be a candidate killer. Does anyone remember when Kerry was supposedly superior to Bush because he understood "nuances"? Does anyone recall how much good that did him?
It is not just that those who claim to understand nuance come across as insufferable snobs, though they do. It is not just that by claiming a grasp of nuance, they are implying that others are too dense to understand politics, though people do draw that conclusion as well.
The problem with claiming "nuanced understanding" is that voters realize that it means the politician will take actions which make no sense and argue that voters simply don't understand all the nuances. "Nuance" is all too often used to explain away actions that voters would simply reject.
I hope that this is just an isolated supporter, and not the beginning of an official Obama position, as he will crash and burn even faster than he already is should he try to adopt the position that he is the "nuanced" thinker.