David Brooks has rightly taken a lot of heat for his "I know the common people mentality" comment on MSNBC that "Obama's problem is he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who could go into an Applebee's salad bar, and people think he fits in naturally there." (By the way, there is an Applebees in Times Square, a few blocks from Brooks' office. Clearly, Brooks is not dropping by on a regular basis with MoDo for lunch).
However, overlooked are comments he made about Obama in his column yesterday about being out of touch with mainstream America. To fully appreciate this Brooksian nonsense, you need to contrast these comments with what one pundit said about Obama subsequent to Obama's triumphant key note address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. (Hint: that pundit is Brooks).
In yesterday's column, Brooks, noted expert on suburbia, wrote:
We haven’t had two presidential candidates as far removed from the mainstream suburban lifestyle...But Obama’s path through the university towns is particularly elusive.
He also had some advice for Obama:
Obama has to come up with a personal narrative voters can relate to.
In contrast, commenting immediately after Obama concluded his speech to the 2004 convention, Brooks gushed about Obama like a school girl with a crush:
[Obama] talks about America. His story is the American story.
So, which is it Dave? Is Obama "far removed" from mainstream suburbia such that he doesn't have a story voters can relate to? Or, is his the quintessential American story that will speak to America?
Better yet, Dave, answer this. Why should anyone take you seriously?