Once More

This merits another mention:

"As a proud resident of Oakton, Virginia, I can tell you that the Democrats have just come in from the District of Columbia and moved into northern Virginia [...] But the rest of the state, 'real Virginia,' if you will, I think will be very responsive to Senator McCain’s message [...]  I mean real Virginia, because northern Virginia is where I’ve always been, but real Virginia I take to be the – this part of the state that is more southern in nature, if you will." - Nancy Pfotenhauer, McCain campaign adviser

From the Washington Post, the words of Sarah Palin:

"We believe that the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. We believe" -- here the audience interrupted Palin with applause and cheers -- "We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation."

And lastly, from the mouth of the candidate:

"MCCAIN: I-- I know where a lot of 'em live. (LAUGH)

WILLIAMS: Where's that?

MCCAIN: Well, in our nation's capital and New York City. I've seen it. I've lived there. I know the town. I know-- I know what a lot of these elitists are. The ones that she never went to a cocktail party with in Georgetown. I'll be very frank with you. Who think that they can dictate what they believe to America rather than let Americans decide for themselves." - John McCain, explaining to Brian Williams where the "elitists" who, in Palin's words, "think that they're better than anyone else," live.

A dissenting view:

"The third essential condition of stability in political society, is a strong and active principle of cohesion among the members of the same community or state [...] We mean a principle of sympathy, not of hostility; of union, not of separation. We mean a feeling of common interest among those who live under the same government, and are contained within the same natural or historical boundaries. We mean that one part of the community do not consider themselves as foreigners with regard to another part; that they set a value on their connexion; feel that they are one people, that their lot is cast together, that evil to any of their fellow-countrymen is evil to themselves; and do not desire selfishly to free themselves from their share of any common inconvenience by severing the connexion." - John Stuart Mill, from the essay on Coleridge, 1840.

This is one of those moments.

On a lighter note...I considered titling this post:

A NOTE

CONCERNING THE NATURE AND RELATIONSHIP OF 

UNITY

TO ITS GOOD AND NATURAL COUNTERPART,

NATIONAL STRENGTH

AS COMPOSED BY N.

HUMBLE BLOGGER,

FROM THE WORDS OF POLITICIANS AND PHILOSOPHERS OF OUR AGE AND AGES PAST

WITH AID TOWARDS A RIGHT JUDGMENT

ON THE CURRENT

 ELECTION

OF WHICH WE SPEAK WITH ALL APPROPRIATE SERIOUSNESS AND CANDOR

It is truly sad that we no longer title anything like that.