Obama in Orange County: Too uptown for the O.C. Fair?
The Times ed board pats Barack Obama on the back today for bucking the stodgy-Republican stereotype and courting those voters in Orange County:
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee gathering $2,300-a-ticket support at the once-Republican bastion where Barry Goldwater and family spent their summers? The African American candidate coming to a city where decades ago the police were known for their "NIN" stops, an acronym that referred to stopping black motorists for questioning simply because they were black and in Newport Beach?
Proof that TV shows about rich, trendy teenagers really can change the world.
But forget that two-grand-a-head soiree. If he's truly the people's candidate, if he's not just eyeing Southern California's wallet — and if he's missing the fried fare from his Iowa campaign days — he should head down to the Orange County fair. See the sights, chow down on some fried frog legs and meet a wider cross-section of O.C. and So-Cal than he'll find at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.
Where do you think the Democratic hopeful should visit to reach out to So-Cal voters? Post your thoughts below.
*Photo: M. Spencer Green / Associated Press
I think criticizing Obama for being "uptown" is awfully hypocritical when McCain is even more so. We as a Americans are going to be hard-pressed to find a candidate in any federal election that isn't "uptown". With the world the way it is, it would be impossible for a true "people's candidate" to run; it would be way too expensive. I think that rather than focusing on where both Obama and McCain campaign, we should be focusing on their ideas and hopes for our country's future. That is what truly matters. The rest is just speculation and perception. Believing a stereotyped or perceived state of being is giving in to ignorance.
Posted by: Morgan | July 22, 2008 at 09:52 AM
yes, stale coffee is the only hot drink conservatives deserve to consume. you tell 'em!
Posted by: xim | July 21, 2008 at 11:58 PM
Is "uptown" the new "uppity?"
Posted by: Bruce | July 21, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Tell the liberal latte & his flip-flopping ways to skip the OC/LA trek-his rhetoric is too canned for the So Cal lifestyle-GO MCCAIN!
Posted by: ted | July 11, 2008 at 07:57 PM