>>> I think the paradox here is that the people who tend to cry "elitism" are often not the >>>best equipped to actually know what elitism is.

Well, your post (the one at the top of the thread) *does* make you sound like a snob! :) You sort of proved the opposition's point by going about Whole Foods, etc. But ... I did agree with your last sentence, qtd above. In my opinion, the people most likely to cry elitism are elites themselves: Hillary, GW Bush, broadcast news people (Tim Russert!), NY Times employees. Then that accusation is picked up not by the actual working class -- janitors, temp workers, etc, emphasis on "working" -- but rather by regional-sales-manager-types whose *grandfathers* were steelworkers, who are insecure about being neither brawny nor brainy, and who want to feel tough ... GWB is one of those guys, in the extreme.

Myself, I grew up eating hot dogs & generic mac n' cheese from a box in a rural, religious community. My body is probably 50% transfat. I'm one of those "dumber people"! And yet I've been an Obama supporter since I first saw him on TV in 2004.

In all seriousness, personal preference in food doesn't make someone an elitist; rather, being unable to relate authentically and respectfully to your "inferiors" would be my definition. Obama strikes me, more than Clinton & McCain, as someone who's able talk to anyone, from rich to poor, in a productive and sincere way. He seems to genuinely like people, as Bill Clinton did, despite his other flaws. Hillary is very competent, she's a good senator, she'd be a great CEO -- but running for president is about popularity and her people-skills are mediocre. After two competent-but-boring candidates who lost, I'm unapologetically voting charisma this primary.