No argument there. But I think there's more to it than that. What Bush did to Clinton and to Letterman's stage manager is emblematic of a distinct and despicable brand of elitism that began when Ronald Reagan, the "amiable dunce," became president.
Backed by influential individuals like Milton Freidman, William F. Buckley Jr., and other conservative luminaries who hated FDR for being a "liberal" and a "socialist," Reagan was tasked to sell the so-called virtues of "self interest" and the "free market" to the mass public. And so he did.
This led to a reverse kind of noblesse oblige during Reagan's two terms in office, continued during the Bush Senior/ Clinton years, and reached its nastiest incarnation during the Bush Junior years. By then the elite class viewed average Americans as pathetic schlubs, not worthy of anything other than their scorn or indifference. Lost your home? Read the fine print next time! Lost your job? Tough t*tty! Don't have affordable health care? Use the emergency room!
And this carried over to all areas of the culture. When super elitist golfer Tiger Woods got caught cheating on his wife, he said he felt "entitled" to his extra-curricular sexual liaisons. In other words, I'm not just a working stiff like the rest of you-- I'm rich, I'm famous, I've got the backing of corporate America" I'm entitled.
In a way it reminds me of the line in the History of the World: Part One where Mel Brooks says, "It's good to be the king!" as he skeet shoots commoners flying through the air for his amusement.
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