The Real Elitists Work in Mainstream Media
By David Sirota, Creators Syndicate
Posted on April 24, 2008
If television is the nation's mirror, then no two TV characters reflect the intensifying "two Americas" gap better than Chris Matthews and Jimmy McNulty.
A recent New York Times profile of Matthews describes a name-dropping dilettante floating between television studios and cocktail parties. The article documents the MSNBC host's $5 million salary, three Mercedes and house in lavish Chevy Chase, Md. Yet Matthews said, "Am I part of the winner's circle in American life? I don't think so."
That stupefying comment sums up a pervasive worldview in Washington that is hostile to any discussion of class divides. Call it Matthews-ism -- an ideology most recently seen in the brouhaha over Barack Obama's statement about economic dislocation.
The Illinois senator said that when folks feel economically shafted, they get "bitter." Matthews-ism spun the truism into a scandal.
The Washington Post labeled Obama's statements "Bittergate." Tim Russert invited affluent political consultants on Meet the Press to analyze the "controversy," with millionaire James Carville saying, "I'm hardly bitter about things." Hillary Clinton called Obama "elitist," ignoring her mansions in Washington and Chappaqua, $109 million income, career as a Wal-Mart board member, and legacy pushing job-killing policies like NAFTA.
(Continued here.)
Posted on April 24, 2008
If television is the nation's mirror, then no two TV characters reflect the intensifying "two Americas" gap better than Chris Matthews and Jimmy McNulty.
A recent New York Times profile of Matthews describes a name-dropping dilettante floating between television studios and cocktail parties. The article documents the MSNBC host's $5 million salary, three Mercedes and house in lavish Chevy Chase, Md. Yet Matthews said, "Am I part of the winner's circle in American life? I don't think so."
That stupefying comment sums up a pervasive worldview in Washington that is hostile to any discussion of class divides. Call it Matthews-ism -- an ideology most recently seen in the brouhaha over Barack Obama's statement about economic dislocation.
The Illinois senator said that when folks feel economically shafted, they get "bitter." Matthews-ism spun the truism into a scandal.
The Washington Post labeled Obama's statements "Bittergate." Tim Russert invited affluent political consultants on Meet the Press to analyze the "controversy," with millionaire James Carville saying, "I'm hardly bitter about things." Hillary Clinton called Obama "elitist," ignoring her mansions in Washington and Chappaqua, $109 million income, career as a Wal-Mart board member, and legacy pushing job-killing policies like NAFTA.
(Continued here.)
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