The XX Factor: Slate women blog about politics, etc...

Back Away From My Bitterness ...

Just to be clear then: When Barack Obama dares ponder the sources of small-town America’s bitterness, he’s an elitist snob. But when Rush Limbaugh devotes his every waking breath to ranting about it, well, he’s speaking truth to power.

I’m not saying Obama’s “cling” comment was smart. It wasn’t. But his real mistake lay in violating the cardinal rule of American political discourse: Thou shalt not proclaim upon any group of which thou art not a member. Nobody may voice an opinion about anything she hasn’t personally experienced without being in peril of that worst sin: condescension. No wonder liberals and conservatives just keep talking past each other. All we’re allowed to reflect upon is ourselves. Obama can wail, weep, and emote exclusively on the topic of Harvard-educated liberal elite bitterness. Dare to speculate about the sources of anger in any other group and you have become “supercilious” “elitist” and “condescending.”