Fuckin'-A-right I'm bitter.

And I'd also like to point out that, while basically left-of-Democrat in my political philosophy, I AM a "little guy," at least in the economic sense: not a member of any "elite." There are plenty of others like me, and I strongly object to the charge that liberals and progressives are guilty of "condescending" to working-class folks who they don't understand. Most of us share the economic circumstances of "little people" of all political and cultural viewpoints

Since the "Reagan Revolution" of 1980, the richest 2% of Americans have been getting richer while the rest of us have steadily been getting poorer. Most of us find it necessary to delude ourselves about this truly unacceptable situation, because it's just too difficult to face.

For some folks, in some American subcultures, the reaction is prtty much what Obama described: a preoccupation with "traditional values" often coupled with a xenophobic tendency to blame scapegoated minority groups rather than the fatcat corporate exploiters who profit at the expense of the rest of us.

For a much larger number of Americans in closer-to-"mainstream" subcultures, the reluctance to face up to an unbearably dismal reality is mainfested in a stubborn insistence that "we're middle-class sophisticates, not working-class slobs." Folks in this group mask their insecurity by plastering their bodies with the "prestigious" brand names of overpriced "fashion apparel" while sinking deeper and deeper into credit card debt. (See the "Rolex watch" thread.) This mindset is every bit as stupid as that of the unemployed coal miner who blames all his troubles on gay marriage and Mexican immigrants; it's just coated with a fancier veneer.

The political quandry is that a viable candidate trying to achieve real progress for the average person needs to awaken all these deluded citizens and point out that they need to see the world in a fresh and more enlightened manner ~ but without insulting them by pointing out the deficiencies of their current worldviews. It'll be a tough sell.