This is the interview I was looking for when I got distracted by the Campbell Brown interview. Blitzer doesn’t let her get too many points out but she does make a case for why she isn’t worried about the abortion issue.She sounds like a Reagan Democrat (even quotes him as you can see from the title of this post), someone who was raised by parents who taught her that this is a great country where we have the freedom to excel and achieve great success. I believe there are many Regan Democrats like her who won’t support Obama because he doesn’t share their view of America. A view he sneers at:
So there’s enormous cynicism about the possibilities of government, and, and, and rightfully so, because Washington over the last eight years has been in the grips of what George Bush called the ownership society, but, uh, what really translates into the you’re on your, you’re on your own philosophy, you know? If you, uh, lost your job, tough luck. You’re on your own. You don’t have health care? Suck it up. You’re on your own. Born into poverty? Didn’t choose the right parents? Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You’re on your own. It, it, it, that, uh, we, we’ve become almost numb to this, this accepted wisdom in Washington, uh, and in the White House that, uh, that there’s no role for government to provide people with the ladders, the steps to get into the middle class and stay in the middle class, and, and, and lift up their sights and achieve their dreams. And, and I think there’s something wrong about that. And it turns out that, uh, when we started this campaign, uh, my bet was that the American people did, too, and that if we could tap into that spirit, if we could tap into the sense you have in your gut that we can be doing better than we’re doing right now, that as daunting as it might be, as hard as the status quo might fight against us, that as long as, as, as deeply entrenched as the special interests might be, uh, that this might be one of those turning points, and one of those crossroads, one, one of those forks in the road where we could get America back on, uh, uh, a path that, that inspires us, that excites us.
He doesn’t believe we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and need the government to do help us even though he’s living proof that it can be done (he’s made millions without the help of government). He can do it but you’re not able to and this is why the charge of elitism works when it’s leveled at the left. And he’s saying this to a roomful of people who have become millionaires because of the freedom inherent in our system. It’s no wonder that a woman who is married to knight and is a millionaire would look at what this guy says and realize that he’s an elitist and want no part of it.And btw, who really is on their own in this country? How many billions do we spend on social programs? How much of our federal budget goes to prescription drugs (a Bush program, btw), education, healthcare, assistance for food, rent, etc. No one is on their own and Obama knows that.