early and often

Schumer Lays the Smack Down on McCain’s ‘New York Elite’ Claim

But is the $150,000 figure even accurate?

Last night on NBC’s Nightly News, John McCain and Sarah Palin clarified what they mean when they use the term “elite.” We’ve known for a while that for them, it doesn’t mean “a small group of people within a larger group who have more power, social standing, wealth, or talent than the rest of the group.” It means something vaguely nasty. Palin said that, to her, it meant “just people who think that they’re better than anyone else,” regardless of where they are from, how rich they are, or how well educated. McCain did not entirely agree — he claimed to know exactly where his out-of-touch “elites” can be found. “I know where a lot of ’em live,” he told Brian Williams, laughing. “In our nation’s capital and New York City.”

This doesn’t come as a surprise (though how Los Angeles got left out of that group we’ll never know). Still, it deserves a riposte,* and luckily Chuck Schumer supplied one: “Men in Gucci shoes who have seven glass houses should not cast stones.”

New York, DC: Snooty Elite Central [MSNBC]
John McCain calls New Yorkers ‘elitists’ during NBC News interview [NYDN]

*Look at us, using words like “riposte.” How snooty and “elite”! We would have used “comeback” instead, but lately that word apparently only belongs to “non-elites.”

Schumer Lays the Smack Down on McCain’s ‘New York Elite’ Claim