No More Mr. Nice Elitist

Barack Obama is trying his darnedest to shed the elitist vibe, writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times, ditching his dainty sips at a Pennsylvania brewery for big swigs of Bud at an Indiana VFW. But for a man of mixed race and a blue-collar upbringing, it’s proving a surprisingly hard image to shake.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is getting down and dirty, with a union supporter decrying her opponent as one of the “Gucci-wearing, latte-drinking, self-centered, egotistical people that have damaged our lifestyle.” But, concludes Dowd, perhaps for a man who's worked his whole life to smooth out his rough spots, "It’s doubly hard to be who you’ve strived not to be." (More Barack Obama stories.)