Elitism charge hurts in U.S. politics

By Matthew Bigg - Analysis

ATLANTA (Reuters) - In a country that loves to see itself as a land of opportunity, Americans may expect their presidential candidates to be richer and more educated than the average.

But they don't want them to talk down to voters. That is what Democratic candidate Barack Obama appeared to do when he spoke last week about Americans in blighted small towns who "cling to guns or religion" as an outlet for their frustrations.

Candidates seen as having too much education, too much money or an aristocratic background are liable to be dubbed elitist if they do or say something that seems to show a lack of understanding of ordinary Americans, commentators said.

The Democratic nominee in 2004, John Kerry, was mocked as an elitist when he was photographed windsurfing. President George H. W. Bush's re-election bid in 1992 suffered when he appeared baffled at the sight of a grocery scanner.

The problem for politicians seems to be less the elitism, than the perception of it and the negative associations around the concept have deep roots in U.S. culture.

"It goes back to King George III and why we came here. We came here to get away from the elitism and the whole style and culture of a class society of Britain. That's the roots of it," presidential historian Lee Edwards told Reuters.

"But if you look at the record you will see that we have been comfortable with aristocratic looking and sounding presidents."

Recent presidents including George W. Bush, his father and even Ronald Reagan, a movie star, could be described as members of an elite, Edwards said.