Here are perceptive words from Michael Ledeen on the alienation of the nation's elite from the thinking and values of ordinary Americans:
It [Sen. John Kerry's remarks belittling U.S. troops] underlines the near-total alienation of the American intellectual elite. I dare say that the leading news and editorial rooms, like the offices of the major universities, are full of people who quite agree with the notion that our troops are stupid and underprivileged. Each time one of our children ships out to the Middle East, we get condolence calls from friends and relatives. They simply cannot fathom it, it is so totally removed from their own experience and from their own narcissistic lives. They do not know uniformed people, they have only a totally misleading stereotype.
. . . I believe that the percentage of veterans in Congress is under fifteen percent. That makes it difficult for them, as a group, to understand military virtue or war. Obviously military service is not a panacea, as Kerry and Murtha have demonstrated. But I do think that in times of war it would help to have more veterans in the legislatures.
Finally, we know lots of military people, from bestarred generals to lance corporals. We've spent plenty of time with them, especially those who have been shot up and blown up. It would help the elite to spend some time in military hospitals, they'd be quite surprised at the intelligence, thoughtfulness, and good character of most of the men and women in uniform nowadays.
Quite aside from the politics of Kerry's buffoonery, this is a serious matter. The war is almost surely going to get worse, and we need leaders with a grasp of what it's about.
John McCain's response to Sen. Kerry's statement is here. Click here for a detailed article on "The Demographic characteristics of U.S. Military Enlistment, 2003 - 2005."
Michelle Malkin's post contains powerful feedback from soldiers, parents, and professors reacting to Sen. Kerry's statement:
"You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."
UPDATE: Hugh Hewitt has a devastating post on the MSM's determination to try and cover for Kerry and his party. Hewitt concludes:
"Any vote for any Democrat is a vote against victory and a vote for vulnerability. It is also a vote against the military."