Gone are the days of log cabin presidents.
Those days have been gone for a long, long time.
This stuff didn't just start in the past ten years - it's been more like the past hundred years.
None of this is new - it certainly didn't start with Sen. McInsane.
Ronald Reagan was the son of shoe salesman.
Harry Truman's father was, I believe, a farmer, and I don't think Eisenhower's parents were wealthy.
Clinton didn't come from money, nor did Johnson, and I think Nixon's origins were rather ordinary.
I don't know about Carter or Ford, but I suspect they weren't from wealthy families.
The Bushes are loaded. So are the Gores. Kerry married into wealth and was rolling in it. The Kennedys have bucks coming out of the wazoo. Romney is loaded so is Schwarzenegger, Corzine, and a host of other leading politicians. Look at some of the other contenders in BOTH parties. I think most of the more successful ones were loaded - like Edwards the slip and fall attorney.
Sure, this HAS happened in the past, but I see an ominous trend being aided by "campaign finance reform" which makes it harder for ordinary Joes to get in the running and leaves positions open to people who are filthy rich.
Having wealth doesn't necessarily mean your a bad fellow. Two of our greatest Presidents - George Washington and Teddy Roosevelt were wealthy. But they were REAL "mensches". They knew how to live like ordinary folks and rough it. They didn't live in a dream world and weren't really born with silver spoons in their mouths. Their heads were screwd on straight and they worked hard for a lot of what they did have.
People like Kerry and McPaine just married into it.