A Sense of Entitlement

I have been pretty silent lately about The Precious. Well, okay, I did a short little post nine days ago, but I really only made one little snarky comment. I even withheld commenting on the Saddleback Forum, although I have to say that I agree with Michael Graham's article this morning in the Boston Herald. Democrats have sure changed.

In 1948, they had Harry Truman and “The buck stops here!”

In 2008, they’ve got Barack Obama and it’s “above my pay grade.”

I'm going to go on record as saying that I don't care what the question was or whether you think he was trying to make a joke. In a public forum where a person is attempting to convey to an audience his/her competency to be the Leader of Free World, "it's above my pay grade" is NOT a good answer. If it's above your pay grade now, the presidency is above your pay grade.

Then, last week we got to hear from our Democratic leadership:

• Obama says "We're not talking to those people," meaning those of us who are PUMA or just not squarely on his cheer squad
  
  
• Leon Panetta calls us "inbred" and "entitled" in this quote
  
  
• Pelosi tells us to just get over it and that he (meaning BO) is "God's gift."

So my response to the arrogance that is permeating what is left of the Democratic party? I will hold my tongue for a moment or two.

So, moving on to why I am in such a snit this morning. This morning I read Monday's article in the New York Daily News.

"Barack Obama offers campaign gear from Isaac Mizrahi, Derek Lam, others

BY ELOISE PARKER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, August 18th 2008, 10:50 PM

Forget buttons and bumper stickers.

Barack Obama's team is taking campaign merchandising to a whole new level - with the help of a few handpicked supporters from the New York fashion world.

Some of the country's biggest style stars, including Isaac Mizrahi, Derek Lam, Tracy Reese, Diane von Furstenberg and Russell Simmons, clamored to create signature items. From T-shirts to tote bags, the items will be available on the campaign's Web site next month."

What is this? A presidential campaign or freakin' Project Runway??

Why don't we take just a moment and let's just imagine that, shortly after being declared the nominee, Hillary Clinton does the following:

• Rents a football stadium for her acceptance speech while not yet formally having enough delegates to claim the nomination
  
  
• Moves the Democratic National Committee office to New York City
  
  
• Invents and flaunts a lame ass faux-presidential seal
  
  
• Takes a self-coronation tour of Europe
  
  
• Names her campaign plane H-Force One, paints her initials over the American flag on the tail and has "President" stitched on the back of her recliner in the plane.
  
  
• Goes on vacation while the other "losing" candidate campaigned for her
  
  
• And, since she is NOT AN ELITEST, adds haute-couteure t-shirts, tote bags, sweat shirts and other items to her campaign merchandise

So, the question that continually haunts my political being: What is wrong with these people ??? Can they be any more out of touch? Any more arrogant? I don't think it is possible, although they prove me wrong on a daily basis.

Finally, how do I respond to the accusations that I feel a sense of entitlement and the admonitions that I should just bite the bullet and come into the fold?

Simply. I have a right to my political opinions, one of which is that I Own My Own Vote. No one candidate should harbor the expectation that I will vote for them because they or someone else tells me I should; or that the candidate would be mad at me if I don't; or would call me names... like "racist" or "bitter" or "inbred" or "entitled"... if I don't.

If Obama wants me to vote for him, he has to make the case that he is the best candidate. He has to speak to my needs and values (and haute-couteure is not is not on the list). It is not my job to give him my vote just because he wants it and is in the same political party. It is HIS job to sell himself, not MY job to recognize his immense wonderfulness, despite my very legitimate doubts and concerns, which he validates daily with his behavior.

I am not putting gender or race ahead of qualifications. I do not support Hillary Clinton because she is a woman. I support her because she represents the possibility of qualified and competent leadership in the White House. I don't feel entitled to a Hillary Rodham Clinton nomination. I feel entitled to a fair and democratic process and, assuming that the process worked the way it should have, Obama would not have been the nominee.

Entitlement? It's a little late for that, don't you think? The dude embodies it.