Barbara Ehrenreich answers 10 questions from New York Times readers. The first question--and Ehrenreich's answer--demonstrates precisely why the Democrats might lose this time around:
"Q. 1. I have well-educated friends who are undecided as to whom they will vote for in this election which baffles, if not infuriates, me. Are you aware of a report documenting every step the Bush administration has taken that was either contrary to constitutional principles, the environment, ethics, or otherwise abominable? — Daphne Burns, Charleston, S.C."
While I'm tempted to just shudder, I will try to put into words why this bothers me. By equating "well-educated" with "anti-Bush," Ms. Burns here just feeds into the idea that Kerry is the candidate of the elite. It "baffles" this woman that a person could have, say, earned an advanced degree, and yet not share her political beliefs. This smug attitude, that the well-educated are somehow morally superior--and thus more likely to care about the enviroment, ethics, and avoidance of the "abominable"--is not going to make too many swing voters swing left. I mean, when voting, should we simply follow the advice of anyone capable of using "whom" correctly?
Does Ehrenreich make any of these points? If she wants to support the Kerry cause, she should be willing to set self-defeating Dems straight. No such luck:
"A. There are so many! Just go to your local bookstore and ask where the Bush-bashing section is. No kidding, there must be about 20 such books and they're usually right in the front of the store."
Opportunity lost.
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