First, I'll preview this entry by saying that I will view the term "Elitist" as striving to reach higher grounds, and not the definition based on the American Heritage Dictionary, like stated by wmtriallawyer in his diary.
Elitist? I mean, it seems to me that this is a talking point that could be so easy to destroy. I know, I know... Brains and talking about reality seems to be regarded with suspicion and supposedly don't represent the values of real hardworking Americans. And of course, orange juice might as well be an unreachable nectar of Ambrosia for the everyday man of middle America, hell even for every Americans in the United States of America. There is indeed nothing more American than Juan Valdez, and it's well known that Florida's orange trees were planted by Sunkist Communists.
Edit: First sentence was horribly constructed. I made a minor change.
So, how do you destroy the "Elitist" talking point? Here's my take on it.
Pretty much everybody loves to cheer when something remarquable happens. The other side of the medal of course is everybody loves to jeer when something less than great is going on. Hell, there is even a daily diary about it from some guy in Portland. So, it's pretty much a given now that we established a common appreciation for cheering and jeering.
That said, when Americans cheered for Armstrong when he took his first step on the moon, weren't they cheering an elitist? Here is a guy who through sheer dedication sat his ass on top of a giant-sized ICBM (Incredible Cojones for Ballsy Missions) for the privilege of walking on a dead rock. A bunch of nerds shared the glory by putting him there, and back on earth, safely. Nerds... the guys everybody laughs at in school, yet you cheered them, those elitists who reached for the stars and helped cast in stone American supremacy in space at the time.
When Americans cheer for their favorite athletes, aren't they cheering elitists? Every single athlete put himself or herself through a grueling amount of training to reach higher levels of performance, so that you might share the glory of their achievement when they win the Superbowl, or a gold medal at the Olympics. Jocks... the guys every nerds resented at school for getting all the chicks. Yet you cheer them, those elitists who strive to reach the highest podium because higher is where you want to be: The view is so much better, especially when cheerleader cleavage is in play.
When Americans cheer for the person they would like to see in the Oval Office, aren't they cheering for an elitist? Counting a few exceptions, every single person striving to reach the highest job in the country put an ungodly amount of studying and work to get that far up the ladder. Politicians... the guys practically nobody would trust with their bank account, yet hope that should they sit in the very comfy chair of POTUS, they know about the bad news behind this mathematical equation of (P + R + B) = (GOIC) or Push Red Button = Game Over, Insert Coin for the mathematically challenged. You cheer them, those elitists who strive to represent you, because making your country a laughing stock around the world is not funny, especially when you're obliterated.
When Americans cheered their boys when they returned victorious at the end of WW2, weren't they cheering elitists? Every single soldier put himself through hell on earth, so that future generations would be able to enjoy Cheers and Jeers. Soldiers... the guys car drivers resent because they can park their Abrams tanks wherever the hell they want to. Yet you cheer them, those elitists who strive... ah fuck it, you cheer them because Brandon Friedman will kick your ass if you don't. It's that simple.
That's how you destroy this talking point, by pointing out that Americans don't resent elitists, in fact they cheer them every single time they make them aspire to something better in their daily lives. America was not constructed on pillars of mediocrity, and the day Americans stop cheering the remarquable people in their life is the day the American Dream dies for good, and the day I really stop laughing.