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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Harvard-Educated Elitist Accuses Barack Obama of Being a Harvard-Educated Elitist

Posted by on Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 11:47 AM

Yesterday, I noticed a pattern in Mitt Romney's most recent attacks on President Obama. Basically, Romney's accusing Obama of being Mitt Romney. That post ended, "I can't wait for Romney to accuse Obama of being too wealthy." Well, that hasn't happened yet, but we're getting closer. Check out this headline from Talking Points Memo:

Romney, Who Holds Two Harvard Degrees, Says Obama Spent ‘Too Much Time’ At Harvard

Look: George W. Bush could get away with shit like this. He had the fancy education and he came from a preppy east-coast background. But he was great at acting like a parody of an ordinary Texas idiot. It was an act that he spent his entire life perfecting. Mitt Romney can't run away from his Harvard background, because he exudes a Harvard background. He stinks of money and elitism. If he keeps trying to act like jus' folks, jus' folks are going to run away from him, because he doesn't pass the bullshit test. It just doesn't feel right for Romney to bash Harvard. Even worse, Buzzfeed found video of Romney calling his Harvard education "terrific."

 

Comments (22) RSS

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Urgutha Forka 1
Maybe Romney will accuse Obama of mistreating the dog next.
Posted by Urgutha Forka on April 5, 2012 at 11:51 AM
2
Aaaaand Barack Obama wasn't fed with a silver spoon.

But you're right, and, in this case, it's Obama that comes off more as the everyman, compared to Romney, and compared to Kerry.
Posted by floater on April 5, 2012 at 11:53 AM
Will in Seattle 3
Heck, it's worse than that.

Mittens actually speaks French, has lived in France, and yet he accuses Obama of being Mittens.

It's like he thinks the Internet doesn't exist ...
Posted by Will in Seattle http://www.facebook.com/WillSeattle on April 5, 2012 at 11:54 AM
Will in Seattle 4
And don't get me started on Mittens being an Anchor Baby ...
Posted by Will in Seattle http://www.facebook.com/WillSeattle on April 5, 2012 at 11:55 AM
5
@ 2 He wasn't he had to work his way up.
Posted by Democrat1234 on April 5, 2012 at 12:03 PM
notaboomer 6
in other words, shrub, obama, and romney are all ivy league corporatists. this is shocking, paul. where'd you go to school?
Posted by notaboomer on April 5, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Zebes 7
"What's more, Obama is a member of this crazy weird religion that believes in magic underpants and baptizing people into its ranks after they're already dead. How can we trust someone like that to lead this country?"
Posted by Zebes http://www.badrap.org/rescue/index.html on April 5, 2012 at 12:11 PM
8
@5 I know. I wasn't intending sarcasm with my statement.

But if we want to really be fair, we could say that Mittens had to work for his grades in BYU and Harvard, that he was dedicated for his church, and that he's been an effective corporate executive, if we want to give him his dues. In other words, he's much more accomplished than Dubya was.
Posted by floater on April 5, 2012 at 12:13 PM
9
As with so many other things, I found Rachel's take to be more satisfying and descriptive:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
id/26315908/vp/
46959410#46959410
Posted by Olberman's Looming Spectre on April 5, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Original Andrew 10
What is wrong with Hahvahd in that they keep churning out these criminally insane, sadistic psychopaths hellbent on ruining our KKKuntree and the world?
Posted by Original Andrew on April 5, 2012 at 12:18 PM
11
@ 6 Obama is a corporatist? Funny Wall Street seems to think differently the way they complain about him. just because he not some hippy doesn't make him a corporatist, there is a middle ground.
Posted by Seattle14 on April 5, 2012 at 12:26 PM
Fifty-Two-Eighty 12
Well, you see, this is why we need Sarah Palin to be president. At least she didn't go to Harvard. (Hell, she probably can't even spell it.)
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty http://www.nra.org on April 5, 2012 at 12:30 PM
13
It's a version of the Bush strategy--attack your opponent on what's considered his greatest strength. Kerry was in the war, Bush's service was questionable, so portray Kerry as the coward and Bush as the eager service member. Romney is out of touch, so proclaim that that's Obama's problem.
Posted by seatackled on April 5, 2012 at 12:44 PM
OuterCow 14
@11 You, are a fucking moron. You thinking you can use Wall Street's attacks on someone as proof that they're attacks are factual, is retarded. You thinking that on this issue, Wall Street has a completely unbiased opinion of who is, and who is not a corporatist, is retarded. I'll give you Romney is more of a corporatist than Obama, but that's it. Obama has shown his favoritism of corporations over people through such actions as saying he wants to lower the corporate tax rate, by the sweet heart deals he gave the insurance and pharmaceutical companies with the Affordable Care Act, by seeking an egregiously low settlement with the banks over the robo-signing debacle, by continuing to push for the Keystone XL Pipeline, and I believe most notably, by not showing any leadership on making sure Dodd-Frank had any real teeth, or at the very least reinstated Glass–Steagall, after the biggest market crash since the Great Depression.

By your logic, since many groups call Obama a socialist, then he actually is a socialist, because people never lie when they have political points to score. By your logic, you are a purple penguin from Mars, because I just called you a purple penguin from Mars.
Posted by OuterCow on April 5, 2012 at 12:47 PM
Max Solomon 15
the difference is that rmoney was merely AT harvard, but obama is OF harvard. hence "too much time".
Posted by Max Solomon on April 5, 2012 at 12:51 PM
16
So let me get this straight: it's okay for everyone here to indulge in stereotyping what Harvard grads are ("stink[ing] of money and elitism"), but it's not okay for Romney to do that, because Romney went to Harvard himself? Or is it because he holds the wrong prejudices? Pray tell.
Posted by Halcyonic on April 5, 2012 at 1:32 PM
17
Harvard, like some other schools (Caltech comes to mind) has a stronger commitment to the notion that if you are qualified to get in, you will be financially able to complete your education there (albeit with loans for some of it) than many state university systems are, now.

I didn't go there, but I spent a fair amount of time there---they have a great physics department, and that's all that really counts, innit?

Yes, there are plenty of people there who think too much of themselves because they're there, but I've met many more who understand how easily they might not have been, and that many of the people that aren't could have done as well or better than they---that is, they understand that life is unfair, and a good chunk of them feel an obligation therefor toward making it less so.

(I think that's also part of why most actors are at least a little lefty: they know in their guts, if they're not monsters, that any success they have it largely contingent on factors out of their control, and gain greater rachmones for the unsuccessful thereby.)
Posted by Gerald Fnord on April 5, 2012 at 2:25 PM
venomlash 18
@15: 'scuse, we at the University of Chicago claim Mr. Obama as one of us. You know, we sell shirts here that say "if I wanted an 'A', I would have gone to Harvard".
Posted by venomlash on April 5, 2012 at 2:51 PM
ScrawnyKayaker 19
@11 Obama would be a conservative in any other Western country.

A recent issue of The Economist had an editorial about how nicely he'd fit in with England's Tories. People without a dog in the fight tend to call the match a lot more honestly.
Posted by ScrawnyKayaker on April 5, 2012 at 3:14 PM
20
"He was wearing my Harvard tie. Can you believe it? My Harvard tie. Like oh, sure, he went to Harvard. "
Posted by keshmeshi on April 5, 2012 at 5:05 PM
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn 21
@14

Speak of the hippie...
Posted by Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn http://youtu.be/zu-akdyxpUc on April 5, 2012 at 7:01 PM
michijo 22
In Maine we call them Massholes (assholes from Massachusetts).
Posted by michijo on April 6, 2012 at 4:56 AM

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