"As you concede, it does provide insight into the speaker's view of his audience, which, In the case of the clintons and Gore, is, invariably, haughty disdain."
So when Bush does it what is it? And there are times when he sounds (on purpose) positively backwoods and uneducated. That isn't talking down to people?
Sorry, but I don't think it's haughty disdain, even when Clinton and Gore do it. It's a simple trick to try to connect better with the audience. And it usually works whether you're black, white, urban, rural or whatever.
When you try to connect some nefarious meaning to every little thing a person like Clinton or Gore does, you start sounding obsessed and even your excellent points start having less impact.
You make a good point. Mimicry is certainly is a natural tendency--is a survival mechanism, in fact.
Perhaps I'm overstating it, but benign--even instintive--cause on the one hand doesn't preclude malignant motivation on the other. IMO the clintons view us as idiots. I don't think Bush comes from that place. (If his PR is to be believed, he want others to view HIM as the idiot.) ;)
As I've often said, the clintons' fundamental error is that they are too arrogant and dim-witted to understand that the demagogic process in this fiberoptic age isn't about counting spun heads; it's about not discounting circumambient brains.