Replies

People who are jealous of another often accuse them of “arrogance,” when they can’t find anything else to criticize. I never saw him make a personal attack on anyone, even when they were getting very personal with him. His demeanor has been, more often, self-deprecating and classy.

And “patrician” can mean just that — classy. He doesn’t go knock back beers with the boys, or swap dirty stories. In some people’s minds, that enough to condemn him.

You have hit the nail on the head. People seem to have rejected Mitt or Sarah, not based on an honest review of their respective records or experience, but because they were not cookie-cutter copies of themselves.

Many of those from Manhattan, who've rejected Palin, do so because they don't understand her. They can't relate. She is not like them. Similarly, those who reject Mitt, do so because he is not like the guy next door. He's from a different world.

It is class warfare on both sides. It is a form of bigotry from both the anti-Palins and the anti-Romneys who reject them because of where they come from, where they went to school, how they speak or what clothes they wear. Both sides are threatened by what they don't understand.

Many of us Romney fans love Sarah too, in spite of the fact they come from two different worlds.

Some of us are able to put the labels aside.

Good conservatives come from a wide range of financial backgrounds, education levels, religions, and social strata.

While Mitt and Sarah come from different worlds, they both appealed to us because they have a unique ability to articulate the conservative message with competence, charisma and conviction. They both possess leadership abilities that do not come around very often.

People who are jealous of another often accuse them of “arrogance"

Maybe, just maybe the accusations are valid and have nothing to do with jeolousy. Those who are accused of arrogance will often respond that their accusers are just "jeolous" (which if you think about is an incredibly arrogant statement that everyone else is wrong but I'm right).

And “patrician” can mean just that — classy.

Patrician can also mean snobbish. If someone avoids others because he believes he is better than them, then it should be viewed as arrogance. If Romney views himself in the same manner that you do, he would be arrogant.

He doesn’t go knock back beers with the boys, or swap dirty stories. In some people’s minds, that enough to condemn him.

I've been on both sides of that divide. When someone didn't want to take part in drinking or telling dirty stories, he was seen as "too religious" or "churchy" or "square" but not arrogant. It was seen as a rejection of our actions, not us, personally. To be perceived as arrogance, it would have to have an air of superiority, a lack of personal humility, an aloofness, not just a "no, I don't do that stuff."