“But unless he was in the race, his view is no better than any other spectator, regardless of his background. See how that works?”
I agree in a sense. Because of his background his view may be more informed and maybe not, that depends on the spectator. But saying that he is only ‘cheering from the stands’ while you are not on the track is imho hypocritical. You have no more skin in the game than Jones does but you are criticizing him for not having skin in the game. I hope that is clearer.
However there is one difference between us and Tim Jones, because of his position, his views about the race will have influence on more people because his statement will be widely dispersed via TV.
Sarah Palin has over 3 million FB fans. People do listen to what she has to say. That is why we are discussing her FB post. So she has more skin in the game than I do. I think I have about 400 FB friends.
Your tone is more civil. :)