President, Gang Leader or Enforcer?

Last night I heard a soundbite with Hillary Clinton reassuring Pennsylvania voters that she had their backs. Literally. “I’ve got your back; I’ve got all of your backs,” she said. I suppose if that was my idea of campaign rhetoric, I’d disparage Obama and his speeches too. Besides the ridiculous context – someone’s going to shiv a soccer mom if not for Clinton’s protectorship? – it was easily as condescending and elitist as anything Obama said, particularly when she expanded the thought to speak to the audience, the state and the country. It became clear that for her, the line is associated with a lower class or a way of life she has no connection to, and it came out her mouth with the awkward enthusiasm of someone who just mastered a phrase in foreign tongue that they’re using for the very first time.