It’s about time someone took down this ridiculous trope:
Ask yourself: how has “elitism” become a bad word in American politics? There is simply no other walk of life in which extraordinary talent and rigorous training are denigrated. We want elite pilots to fly our planes, elite troops to undertake our most critical missions, elite athletes to represent us in competition and elite scientists to devote the most productive years of their lives to curing our diseases. And yet, when it comes time to vest people with even greater responsibilities, we consider it a virtue to shun any and all standards of excellence. When it comes to choosing the people whose thoughts and actions will decide the fates of millions, then we suddenly want someone just like us, someone fit to have a beer with, someone down-to-earth — in fact, almost anyone, provided that he or she doesn’t seem too intelligent or well educated.
Speaking of which, it seems that some of the more virulent wingnuts haven’t taken too kindly to Peggy Noonan’s recent dismissal of Sarah Palin’s candidacy and in particular her pronouncement that ultimately it “is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics.” Hell hath no fury like ideological fanatics scorned.
Bonus Track: Why are garden variety wingnuts soooooo stupid? Here’s a rather obvious answer:
Red Tory v.3.0.3 
It’s been maddening waiting for the media to catch up finally and address this vacant concept of elitism in democratic politics. And even when they do, they botch it by introducing distractions into the discussion.
CBC’s Sunday Edition, September 28th attempted it but the discussion got needlessly confused by the fathead Micheal Bliss and TVO’s The Agenda, October 3rd did the same thing, this time with Deborah Gray and the famously unknown Theo Caldwell.
All I can say is that liberals/progressives have to get angrier when they’re accused of some kind of elitism that seems to imply baselessly that they’re also anti-democratic or hypocritical. Trying to understand someone’s else’s petty prejudice all the time is draining.
Isn’t Dick Morris the most unctuous queen, ever?