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Bittergate Takes the Cake
Not the First Time Obama has been Patronizing on Class
Obama is a good guy. I get it. This doesn’t mean that he won’t have the occasional “gaffe” (code word for fairly offensive remark). But on the topic of class, Obama, his campaign and his supporters have been offensive before. I’ve written about this in an earlier post, The Workings of Class. Back then no one really paid any attention to his implied classist statements because they weren’t as clear cut as:
And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.
As with all things, we, as Americans, need things spelled out for us.
To be fair to Obama, there was probably something to his tours in small towns in Pennsylvania that gave birth to such remarks and like everything he says, there is a kernel of truth. Some one or some group of people probably said something outlandish about Mexicans invading the workforce or there were one too many intense debates about gun control. But his statements and the context in which they were made are so representative of the growing divide between classes in this country.
The Intellectual Elite Think They Know It All
The intellectual elite think that they are smarter than the average Joe. And they treat them that way on everything from economics (Read Brook’s latest here: Obama: A Speech about Nothing) to political commentary to their antipathy towards working class issues. Obama can go from rural Ohio to Pennsylvania,
give his hypocritical stump speech on NAFTA (read: pretends like he doesn’t agree with free trade agreements. Read more here) and then fly back to SF, toss back glasses of Syrah with his enlightened supporters and speak about the ignorant folks elsewhere. All of this is insufferable, patronizing, condescending and painfully annoying.
Class, not Race is the Big Divider
For those of you who are still unaware, it’s class, not race which is causing the big divide in the current Democratic race. And the working class have something legitimate to say even if it’s something idealistic, young Obama supporters don’t want to hear. It goes a little something like this:
1. We do not trust your 2 years of national experience with the issues we cannot afford to get wrong: healthcare, education and the economy.
2. We believe Hillary is more committed and has the experience to carry through reform around the issues nearest and dearest to us given the fact that Bill did a pretty decent job of sustaining a decade of growth and prosperity, while investing in social programs like the HOPE credit for our college going kids and welfare reform for the working poor.
3. We find your pie-in-the-sky rhetoric completely discordant with the realities of our 9pm to 6am lives.
This is not to say that Obama can’t win over the working classes. It’s just to say that he won’t by playing into stereotypes that propagate classism.
Which MBTI Type would make the Best President?
Note: Please take this with a grain of salt. I’m kidding, but not really. 
Given the surprising interest in Hillary INTJ, Obama ENTP, I wanted to pander to the masses and expand on the initial post.
What does MBTI say about who should be our next president?
Unfortunately, MBTI says very little. Your Myers-Briggs preferences are just that – preferences. Therefore, a “strong” situation like work or being the President of the United States would override the natural tendencies 
that you tend to display in your personal life. For example, you may be a Perceiver, which means you don’t necessarily like the closure that comes with deadlines. You enjoy leaving your options open, and the rush of adrenaline right before a project due date is exactly the energy boost you need to get over the hump. But since work rewards those who are less spontaneous and more methodical with meeting deadlines, you organize and plan away although you avoid this in your personal life. The pressure of being president will force Intuitives (Ns) who are more concept focused to fixate on details. The same pressure will force Sensory folks (Ss) to bring “out of the box” solutions to the table when the situation demands it
But, Wendy. What do you really think?
If I were to handpick the president him/herself based upon MBTI, the only true filter that I would apply would be the N/S dimension. I’d pick an N over an S any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Sorry, S friends, but you already know that I’m an N snob. 
Here’s why. George Bush = ESTJ. Need I say more…
In short, you can find a smart S, but you can’t find a dumb N. And yes, I know intelligence can be defined by multiple parameters, but I’m now speaking of pure systemic logic – the kind of intelligence measured by IQ tests. It’s not that Ss aren’t smart; I’m dating an ESTP who smoked me on the GMATs with a 99.8 percentile score. But studies have shown that there are correlations between intelligence and MBTI types.
Exhibit A
So what does this table say? It essentially states that Ns are overrepresented in a random sample of gifted students as compared to a normative group. In laments terms, Ns are brighter than the average bear. (A consolation prize for Ss: Ss are cooler than the average bear).
Why are Ns smarter?
I tend to use this analogy. Raw intelligence is like your Pentium Processor. Different people have varying processing speeds, which speak to how quickly your synapses fire. Your MBTI type is like the software that runs on your computer – it speaks to sophistication and efficiency. Invisible Man was the lamest movie, but
it did have a good scene that I think that helps to explain the key difference between an N vs. an S. In the scene, the scientist attempts to explain why his colleague is more gifted. He says of himself that to get to D he has to go from step A to B to C to D. On the other hand, his colleague can go from A to D.
At the core of this is pattern recognition. In Ns, the dominant or axillary form is either Introverted Intuition or Extroverted Intuition. So how does this play out in our brains? It goes something like this. My economics professor introduces the concept of supply and demand and the point of equilibrium. In my head, I automatically make the association between this point of equilibrium with something I learned in chemistry class – the equilibrium of molecules when a gas is released in a tank. This image of gas molecules floating through the tank until they are totally diffused throughout flashes in my head. I then take this gas concept that I’ve already internalized and apply it to the current concept of supply and demand. This is obviously more efficient than going back and digesting the idea of equilibrium from scratch. My brain does this all the time with everything that comes into it – association after association in one warped network of connected concepts.
The difference between Hillary and Obama
…is the difference between an IN and an EN. INs take things to another level of depth and understanding when compared to ENs. Why? Because INs are always in their head thinking things over and over and over until they reach a good equilibrium with the topic. This essentially is the difference that you see between Hillary’s depth of knowledge on certain topics (like healthcare, education, etc.) vs. Obama’s general grasp of the concept. It’s as if he made the association between the gas equilibrium and supply and demand equilibrium, but didn’t go beyond that. But does it really matter that Obama is an EN vs. an IN? Yes and no. Yes, in the fact that he understands concepts with less depth, but no because ENs come with sizable talents lacking in INs – namely the awe inspiring leadership skills that Obama has demonstrated. And one could argue that those skills are more critical to the presidency.
The difference between Hillary & Obama vs. McCain
People have speculated that McCain is an ESTP. All and all I wouldn’t elect a president who was an S unless he was the actual general leading us in war a la George Washington who was rumored to be an ISTJ – the stalwart of duty. How can I say this nicely? Ss just don’t get it sometimes. They get the details without understanding the underlying principle.
Detail: “Well functioning market systems.” Concept: “Well functioning market systems to create economic and social stability” The difference? McCain focuses on “fixing the markets.” Obama and Hillary focus on fixing the markets insomuch that they help with the prosperity and stability of our democratic society.
So in short, vote for an N, not an S.
Hillary and the Affair
Before Friday, I would have never written a post about Hillary and Bill’s marriage. It seems invasive – like I of all people have the brazen right to pry into someone’s personal life and delve into their soul without the least bit of concern for their privacy. But if Maureen Dowd can arrogantly talk as if she knows the intimate details behind the lives of Bill and Hillary, apparently, I can too. (She’s so obnoxious.)
I was at the dentist office on Friday, listening to an NPR clip as the hygienist scraped away. It was another polling piece where Pennsylvania voters voiced their opinions on the upcoming primary. I was struck by the number of people who spoke about Hillary and how they couldn’t support her because of the way she handled herself during the Lewinsky affair. Lovely. Here’s to sticking to the issues, people.
An Interview for Commander in Chief
So what do I think Bill’s affair says about Hillary’s capabilities as commander in chief? I think very little.
Unlike many of my friends, I’m not looking for the second coming of Jesus. I’m looking for a bright, capable candidate who will fix the mess that we’re in and so my approach has never been to dissect the personal lives of Hillary and Obama. Obama’s crazy pastor is Obama’s crazy pastor. Do his policies or the way he’s conducted his campaign reflect the anti-American, racially polarizing remarks of his pastor? Nope. Do Bill’s infidelities affect Hillary’s campaign and her policies? Apparently yes, but only in the minds and the perceptions of the people judging her.
I wonder how many of us would pass our own interviews if our personal lives were on the chopping block to be scrutinized. 
Well, I guess 50% would fail right off the bat for giving up on our marriages. Another 16% would be considered weak for staying in a marriage once an affair has taken place. And I wonder just how many partners at my ex-firm would be fired for messing around with their assistants.
I’m just very curious as to why people have this obsession with idealizing their leaders. I mean, isn’t it obvious that it’s very stupid idea? Whose perfect? MLK was a very well known philanderer as a church pastor no less. Does this take away from the great things that he accomplished as a public figure pushing for civil rights legislation and inspiring a generation of new activists?
Hillary and the American Ideal
Bill cheats and Hillary gets blamed. I love the warped minds of Americans. At the core of it is this idea of the American ideal. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the stuff American Idol is made of. Marriage is made of fairy dust and Kathering McPhee can’t possibly not like hanging out with her parents. That’s so non-Apple pie of her.
I don’t know what Hillary and Bill’s marriage is like. I have a feeling it’s more than a calculated bond for political convenience. Hillary’s an INTJ; Bill’s an ENFP – they’re a natural Myers-Briggs pair. I’m completely and utterly speculating at this point, but unlike some NY Times columnist at least I have the humility to admit this. INTJs and ENFPs are mind-mates. This is pretty evident in Bill and Hillary’s marriage. She’s an incredibly bright and knowledgeable woman and that’s a rare commodity for a bright and knowledgeable man. He trusted her enough to head up education reform in Arkansas and health care as our first lady. A more machismo driven man would have had his wife stand there and look pretty as many have done in the past and still do in the present (ahem…McCain).
I don’t know what life is like in the Clinton household, but I think it could go a little something like this:
Bill and Hillary at Dinner
Bill: Hi babe. I had a great day today. We just expanded offices to Uganda. That’s one more procurement partner driving up the scale advantages for buying retroviral medication for AIDS patients. More partners means cheaper medication and more people getting the medication they need.
Hillary: That’s cool, honey. Do you think we could do something similar in the US as it pertains to health care? Maybe put together a plan to include everyone. We can then use the increased scale to drive down the cost of the plan.
Bill: Yeah, should work. Let’s hope the Republicans and lobbyists don’t spend millions of dollars fooling Americans that a collective plan will somehow drive down the quality of healthcare like they did last time.
Hillary: True. [pause] Chelsea got a question from an obnoxious supporter about the whole Lewinsky thing today.
Bill: [pause...gulp] Yeah, I suck. I’m sorry that I put you and Chelsea through all that public humiliation. As an INTJ, you’re an intensely private person and having your personal affairs talked about at dinner tables and on blogs must kill you.
Hillary: You better be sorry. [glare] And you do suck. But you’re a decent man, even with all your obvious flaws. And I wish that people would understand that we may not be apple pie, but we’re about as real and American as it gets with all of our inherent flaws, contradictions, ideals and striving for something better…
Other Related Content
It’s not Her. It’s that Marriage, Newsweek
For Clintons, Delicate Dance of Married and Public Lives, NY Times
Republicans and the Games they Play on Education
As I was submitting my post to RealClearPolitics.com this morning, I ran across this beauty of an article.
A Bad Education Equals A Good Democrat
How do you turn someone into a lifelong Democrat? Give him a public school education.
Whenever I wrote about public schools in my job as an op-ed columnist for the NY Post, I would get letters stating that the above was the Democrats’ “secret weapon” for maintaining power. Since I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories, I viewed such letters as overwrought. Besides, you don’t need to be conspiratorial when you’re achieving the same ends in broad daylight.
A report issued by America’s Promise Alliance, a non-profit group dedicated to improving children’s lives, states that seventeen of the nation’s fifty largest cities had graduation rates below 50%. “When more than 1 million students a year drop out of high school, it’s more than a problem, it’s a catastrophe,” said former Secretary of State Colin Powell, founding chair of the alliance.
It’s a catastrophe some forty years in the making, Mr. Powell–and it comes courtesy of the Democratic party and its undying allegiance to public school unions. Read more here…
Oh, the games Republicans play, while our kids remain neglected. I promptly wrote Arnold Ahlert this (Here’s his email if you want to spam him: atahlert@comcast.net):
That’s a very cute story that you wrote on Political Maven. But it’s very much like a Republican to have such a market purist view that over simplifies the issue by a factor of 100. Democrats have traditionally been pro-union. Agreed. But both Democratic national candidates, Obama and Clinton, are standing up for charter schools and early childhood prevention, which are our best chances to significantly reform the public education system in the country. I find this especially ironic given the fact that Clinton during her work in Arkansas enforced better teacher qualification and credentialing, while McCain has done…what? Please remind me of what he’s done…
But let’s look at the real culprit of the decline of the public school system, especially in California – Proposition 13 enacted under Reagan that capped property taxes and therefore drained the system of much needed funding. Back in the 1960’s, California schools were ranked near the top and are now 48th in the country. Want to see a fun correlation chart? Check out public funding (x-axis) and student achievement (y-axis).
Instead of blaming Democrats for the mess we’re in, it would be nice to see a journalist seriously dive into the issues. In lieu of that, I’d just like you to stick to what you know, which apparently isn’t education.
-Wendy N.
Republicans and their school voucher BS. Yes, school vouchers are fine, but they definitely are not a well-thought out plan to overhaul our school system needs. In California, each student receives $9,009. A quick scan of the 30 something Oakland private schools out there places full-day tuition at about $12,000 – that’s roughly 30% more than what a low-income Oakland parent can afford for each child. We also haven’t touched on the number of private schools that would have to be built out of the blue to accommodate the 48,906 students in the 142 schools in Oakland Unified School District.
Honestly, it would be nice if instead of this back and forth, superficial coverage, we could get some smart journalists to “be the change” they seek. The irony is not lost on Hillary supporters.
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