I guess this dunphy dumbass never played lacrosse. Ask the hard hitting lacrosse guys from Syracuse, Navy, Hopkins, Rutgers etc if they're Regular guys who can kick the asses of most footballers and certainly baseballers. He should also be reminded Jim Brown, arguably the greatest, toughest footballer of all time, played lacrosse at Syracuse. Let's ask Jim if lacrosse is a tough game worthy of the police and fireman's attention.
I just saw Bush say that the other side thinks that the heart and soul of America is in Hollywood, while he himself thinks that the heart and soul of America is "right here in Davenport, Iowa." Jesus. I know, you're right, in the short run it's useful to note that Bush is not like the rest of us; but is there any way to stop this idiotic rhetorical bit about who counts as real? As if one's Americanness is some kind of metaphysical edifice that dissolves in white wine and latte.
These people live in their own worlds that have only a passing resemblance to our own, making arguing them into submission a rather tricky task. They actually believe the bs they spew, empirical evidence or logical contradictions be damned. This "regular guy" stuff is absurd nonsense; the writer obviously has no clue what the hell he is talking about, but that doesn't matter to him. It makes the world 'make sense' in a way he already wants to believe. Living in Louisiana and Arkansas, I've had too many conversations with This Guy. I'm starting to believe that you just can't argue with him; it's like trying to pin Mr. Fantastic in a wrestling match while gravity randomly comes and goes.
It's too bad a lot of white proles aren't going to vote for Kerry. But to view this state of affairs as tragic is to buy into a Jacksonian populist myth that treats those voters as a touchstone of democratic authenticity.
Lots of minority voters will stay home this fall, believing they have no stake in the outcome. This is surely at least as tragic as the white working class following the siren song of identity politics.
If "regular guys" play baseball and football, what kind of guy is on the cheerleading squad? (Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.)