It's the Stupid Electorate

Velma Hart

First it was Joe the Plumber with an embarrassing question for candidate Obama in the 2008 election cycle.  Recently, it was Velma Hart, who described herself as "a CFO, wife, mother and veteran."  In one of those "not-intended-for-prime-time" unguarded moments at a town hall meeting to tout the end of the recession, the rolling cameras from MSNBC caught her on tape.  Now that moment, on the very day, September 22, 2010, the recession was officially pronounced as "over," is going viral on YouTube.

She explained first she was an avid supporter of President Obama and had voted for him in 2008.  But then she expressed her "deep disappointment" with Obama's economic record -- to his face.

"I've been told that I voted for a man who said he's going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class. I'm one of those people, and I'm waiting, sir. . .  I'm waiting, but I don't feel it yet."

Calling herself "exhausted" by having to defend not only her vote for him, but now-President Obama, she lamented that she and her husband had thought the "franks and beans" era of their lives had drawn to a close.  But she went on to say she hears it "knocking" at the door. Then she asked the President if her anxiety is to be her "new reality."

Stunningly, the ever-articulate President Obama when he's using a teleprompter staggered through an unsatisfying review of his legislative record of achievement to completely overhaul the socio-economic structure of America, none of which did anything to directly answer Velma's question or to improve her life in any measurable way that satisfied her. 

But here was the stunner for me in his answer:  "That's [living a life of hard work and responsibility] what we want to reward."  Who's the "WE" in his answer?  It's the arrogance that shocks me.  The "WE" is the federal government that will decide who gets rewarded -- how, how much, when, and what.  This President is so out of touch with his own supporters he can't connect emotionally, it seems, at even the lowest level of empathy. 

At least Bill Clinton in his heyday could come up with a quivering lip and an "I feel your pain."

Senator John Kerry (D-MA)

Here's another example yesterday from Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who is once again one of the "political elites" without a clue what Americans are doing, saying, feeling and will soon be voting that way: 

The Boston Herald this morning quoted Kerry as saying, “We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening.”

Classic!!  So, let me understand, "It's the stupid electorate!"  Now I get it.

Here's your test, America:  Two choices -- A) it is Americans who do not understand what's going on; or B) it is our elected officials in Washington D.C. who do not understand what's going on.

If you guessed A, you will be recycled back to kindergarten.