Republican nonsense

Ross Douthat via Sully:

[T]he point of highlighting a candidate’s humble background isn’t just to suggest a “jes’ folks” common touch. It’s to emphasize how far they’ve come in life — all the way from that “house with a car up on blocks” to whatever distinguished office they hold now. In these kind of political narratives, growing up poor isn’t just being presented as evidence of character and accomplishment in and of itself. Rather, what’s being suggested is that growing up poor and then making something impressive of yourself is a more significant accomplishment than being born in relative comfort and doing well in life.

This is, of course, a lie - Republicans don't want someone who ACTUALLY HAS a "humble background" (note their begging for Jeb Bush to run), they want someone who can PRETEND to have humble beginnings, eg. Bush growing up "in West Texas", as if he had no idea where the Oval Office was.  Clinton and Obama actually embodying their "American Dream" scares the shit out of them; anything outside of the good ol' boy network scares the shit out of these people.  Republicans are horrified to find out how "far" someone has come in life, and will do what they can to combat it.