John Kerry's America

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This article is much too long to post entirely here so I only posted several paragraphs. I thought it was very interesting and if you want to read the entire piece the link is provided.

John Kerry's America

By Chris Weinkopf

Lost on Northeastern liberals is that they live among--and their political leaders tend to come from--the very pockets of privilege they should, by virtue of their ideology, despise.

This is the same John Forbes Kerry who now campaigns on a populist promise to bridge the "two Americas" divided by wealth and privilege.

The theme isn't original, of course. It's recycled from the primary campaign of Kerry's running mate, North Carolina's Senator John Edwards. And at least symbolically, this political ticket represents the uniting of the classes that the candidates promise. Although shaking down doctors and insurance companies has launched Edwards into Kerry's rarefied tax bracket, his pedigree couldn't be more different--the son of mill workers, the product of public education and state universities, a lifelong resident of North Carolina.

In many ways, John Kerry represents both the personification and the pinnacle of the region that spawned him, a region increasingly detached from much of the rest of America in terms of culture and values. Although his background has helped bring him to his current position of wealth and prominence, it could ultimately thwart his lifelong pursuit of the Presidency. Between now and November, Kerry will labor mightily to convince working-class, swing-state Americans that he is, at least in spirit, one of them. The question is: Can he pull it off?

True to the region's Europhilic origins, New Englanders, as a whole, care deeply about what France and Germany think about America, Americans, and U.S. foreign policy. When Kerry wrings his hands about the need to "rebuild our alliances," he's not just giving voice to his own concerns; he's playing to his base, a constituency that can't bear the thought of losing international popularity contests. Commensurate with the Northeastern affinity for international sensibilities is a disdain for the notion of American exceptionalism, the idea that the U.S. has a unique role in the world, or at least a responsibility to exert its power for its own protection. All of which translates into a deep disgust for the man Kerry hopes to replace in November, President George W. Bush.

http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleID.182...icle_detail.asp