Obama’s impression of elitism
Sen. Barack Obama is bringing the following surrogates to campaign for him in New Hampshire in the coming days:
Saturday: Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick;
Friday and Saturday: Harvard University Professor of foreign policy and human rights, Samantha Power;
Next week: Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Tribe.
Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen is director of Harvard’s Institute of Politics. She knows all the big-shots down at Harvard. I find it hard to imagine that she will bring up a single Harvard professor or Massachusetts politician to assist in her U.S. Senate race. She knows better.
If Obama wants to win only Hanover, Durham and Dover, he should keep bringing Harvard professors and Massachusetts Democrats (does anyone in New Hampshire care about Deval Patrick at all?) to campaign for him. These types of surrogates are great for alienating voters who don’t have advanced degrees. If he wants to win the mass of Democrats who are leaning toward Hillary Clinton, he’d do better to try for some blue collar bona fides.
Obama already suffers from coming across as too professorial and upper crust. These types of campaign surrogates will only solidify that image. What he needs are some good, old-fashioned union guys, a NASCAR driver or maybe a country singer. A male country singer.
He’s got to show that he understands regular folks and can communicate with them. Plus, it would help to bring in a bigger draw. How many average voters have read a Lawrence Tribe book or have any emotional connection to Deval Patrick? Samatha Powers might be brilliant, but has more than one in 1,000 voters ever heard of her?
Comment from Jeffrey Kurzon in Peterborough: I agree with your point, but I see it differently. Deval Patrick knocking on an average NH voter’s door will likely just produce surprise. The point though is that he is doing it. And since he is the governor of Mass., many people are following him. Many of them will be “blue collar” and will also be knocking on doors. The whole idea is to legitimize grassroots democracy. Citizens talking with one another. Let’s not be afraid to talk about politics is the message. Let’s not live in fear and a world of cynicism. Let’s not be afraid to be happy.
With respect to Professor Tribe, I know that he will be speaking with lawyers. Most lawyers know who he is and are interested in what he has to say about the good senator from Illinois.
As a lawyer myself, I do not know who is Professor Powers, but I imagine that she is a professor at Harvard for a reason, as you say. I would be interested in hearing what she has to say and I am sure that a lot of New Hampshire voters would too. I am sure we could all learn something from her. And it will be cheaper than paying for classes at Harvard.
Comment from Jane Harland in Claremont: Mr. Cline seems to imply that a lack of education is a virtue, and that having an education and a world perspective causes suffering. Yikes, bringing in the Harvard proffessors! Harvard’s only a couple of hours away from where I live in N.H.. Why not bring in the best and the brightest? Isn’t having access to the best part of the New Hampshire advantage? I applaud Obama for not dumbing down his campaign for the New Hampshire voters.
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