A Pilgrim’s Digression

One of the most inane characterizations of Barack Obama this campaign season has been the accusation that he is a “latte-drinking liberal.” Republicans love throwing that around. The appearance of elitism is like the curse of death (supposedly) to a politician.

With that in mind, I found the following picture rather ironic on a number of levels.

The caption for the picture, courtesy of the AP, is “John McCain gives a thumbs up to the coffee at Café Versailles in Miami on Tuesday.” Clearly, as any of us elitist liberals can tell you, that is not just a coffee he is drinking, but an espresso.

And what the heck is a red-blooded American like John McCain doing drinking espresso at a place called, of all things, Café Versailles? If I am not mistaken, that’s French; Royal French, since Versailles was the palace of the Sun King and his descendants, until they lost their heads in the Revolution.

The AP needs to investigate this further, or at least change their caption to actually reflect McCain’s beverage of choice.

While I am on the subject of McCain, one more thing to note. In reports about the recent dust-ups between McCain and Obama, I have detected a strain of arrogant condescension in McCain’s criticisms. Here’s a quote from a campaign rally yesterday.

“I admire and respect Senator Obama. For a young man with very little experience, he’s done very well. For his very, very great lack of experience and knowledge of the issues, he’s been very successful.”

That was clearly meant to elicit a laugh from his supporters. However, McCain had much sharper words for Obama over McCain’s refusal to vote for an extension of the G.I. Bill.

“I take a backseat to no one in my affection, respect and devotion to veterans. And I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did,” McCain said.

The above quote fairly drips with anger and contempt. The remark about Obama “not [feeling] it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform” is right out of the liberal playbook, considering how many times the same charge has been leveled against Cheney and Limbaugh and their ilk. It’s rather startling to hear such a specious and childish argument coming out of the mouth of John McCain.

If McCain is angry, he has no right to be. He did not even show up to vote on the G.I. Bill, but he made it clear that he opposed it because he believes it would hurt retention rates, since veterans would serve only one four year term of service before cashing out and going to college (so he says). Nonetheless, the bill is supported by almost every Veteran’s organization in America.

If this is a preview of how McCain is going to go after Obama in the Fall, Republicans should prepare for defeat. Attacking Obama’s inexperience did not work for Hillary Clinton. In fact it failed miserably. And anger and contempt for Obama because of his youth and inexperience will only serve to alienate a whole lot of people who don’t like it when an old geezer talks down to a younger person.

I don’t want to give McCain any advice, though. If he wants to run his campaign from the Clinton playbook, let him. Doing so, he looks more and more like Bob Dole every day: a proud veteran who served his country with distinction, who has become an angry old man barking at the youngsters to get off his lawn.

And also like Dole, come November McCain is going to be left incredulous at how millions of Americans rejected him and his much-vaunted military record for the young man “who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform.”