The Only Joy In Town

From Paul Krugman at the New York Times: 

By selecting Barack Obama as their nominee, the Democrats may have given Republicans an opening: the very qualities that inspire many fervent Obama supporters - the candidate's high-flown eloquence, his coolness factor - have also laid him open to a Nixonian backlash. Unlike many observers, I wasn't surprised at the effectiveness of the McCain "celebrity" ad. It didn't make much sense intellectually, but it skillfully exploited the resentment some voters feel toward Mr. Obama's star quality. 

Watching the Right lose their natural minds over what I consider to be the badassedness of Sen. Obama has been hilarious to me.  I think Mr. Krugman is being kind ascribing "resentment" to it, though not particularly untrue.   I'll come honest and say I believe it's envy...craven envy...that has compelled conservatives to paint a high-achieving thoughtful smarter-than-most man, from very modest means mind you, "elitist."  I think they think the province of remarkable excellence is theirs to govern, though examples on the Right are few.  That Obama has mastered it, nay, is better at it, puts them at sixes and sevens.

(Excuse the Anonymous Sec's self-promotion but I've addressed it often.)

Cross posted at Attackerman.